[nagdu] UK: Guide Dog saved from icy death

[Julie J]

Brenda,

That was the same exact reaction I had to the article.  Well that and why in 
the world would you let your dog run off leash near thin ice?

I guess it's the nature of newspaper articles.  They seem to always leave me 
with more questions.  Even articles in my local paper that I know more 
background info about seem to create more questions and confusion for me.

Julie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brenda" <bjnite at windstream.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 8:41 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] UK: Guide Dog saved from icy death


> The dog, which was cold but uninjured, was wrapped in a thermal
> blanket and taken in the off-road vehicle back to the owner's
> car.
>
> I'm confused, if the owner had a car, why was a guide dog needed?  The 
> article didn't mention that there was another person with the handler who 
> would have driven the car only that the handler was a partial-sighted 
> woman.  If a person has significant vision loss to benefit from a guide 
> dog, how then can they be capable of still driving?
>
> I'm not judging, or trying to start a nit-picking debate, but am just 
> really curious as to this question.
> Brenda
>
>
>
>
> On 12/7/2010 8:51 AM, Ginger Kutsch wrote:
>> Guide Dog saved from icy death
>> 10:00am Monday 6th December 2010
>>
>> A GUIDE dog trapped in an icy lake at Stanton Fitzwarren was
>> saved from freezing to death in a daring rescue by firefighters
>> on Saturday.
>>
>> The black labrador fell through thin ice at Stanton Park and was
>> stuck perilously for at least 20 minutes with only its head and
>> front paws out of the water.
>>
>> After fire crews arrived, a specially-trained firefighter slid
>> along the ice on his stomach, grabbed the helpless animal and was
>> pulled back to dry land with it in his arms.
>>
>> The owner, a partially-sighted Swindon woman, who did not want to
>> be named, is said to be delighted with the rescue but
>> 'distressed' about the near-tragedy.
>>
>> Watch manager Kevin Bridgman, who led the rescue, said: "The
>> owner was over the moon, she couldn't praise us enough, she
>> couldn't believe what we did.
>>
>> "She was so impressed with what we did but she was very
>> distressed about what happened.
>>
>> "It was a great outcome from our point of view, I think the whole
>> crowd was over the moon, right from control down to us, that it
>> was a successful outcome.
>>
>> "The message to dog owners is to keep your dog on a lead at all
>> times near icy water."
>>
>> The incident happened as temperatures rose slightly above
>> freezing on Saturday, causing ice on the man-made lake to thaw.
>>
>> The owner called Stratton St Margaret fire station at 11.35am and
>> a pumping appliance with six firefighters was immediately
>> dispatched.
>>
>> When the officers arrived, just 12 minutes later, they saw the
>> dog stuck about 10 metres from the lakeside, with its front paws
>> on the ice and its body under the water.
>>
>> Watch manager Bridgman said: "The dog was very calm, it was not
>> flapping, just looking towards us as much as to say 'Come and get
>> me out'.
>>
>> "The owner was there, obviously a bit distressed."
>>
>> The firefighters started preparing for the rescue and an off-road
>> vehicle, equipped for water and animal rescue, arrived with five
>> more officers.
>>
>> Firefighter Steve Owen, who is specially trained in water and
>> animal rescue, went out to save the animal as a small crowd
>> gathered.
>>
>> Wearing a drysuit and attached to the bank with lines, he slid
>> out flat on his stomach, helped the dog back onto the ice and was
>> then pulled back in with the animal in his arms.
>>
>> The dog, which was cold but uninjured, was wrapped in a thermal
>> blanket and taken in the off-road vehicle back to the owner's
>> car.
>> Source:
>> http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/8720832.Guide_Dog_saved_f
>> rom_icy_death/
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Ginger Bennett Kutsch
>> Morristown, NJ
>>
>>
>> "To think that one small dog could stand for so much in the
>> life of a human being, not only in his usual role of companion
>> but as his eyes" Dorothy Harrison Eustis, The Saturday Evening
>> Post, November 5, 1927
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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