Dog rescued after falling through thin ice on South Thompson river in Kamloops
It took a community to come together in a Kamloops neighbourhood to rescue a beloved family dog from the icy South Thompson River earlier this week.
Dallas resident Amber Van Dyke-Jacobsen said neighbours were in tears watching a family dog struggling to pull himself onto the ice midday on Jan. 30.
“It was my mom who spotted it first,” she said. “She could hear a horrible noise coming from the dog and went onto her deck and saw it in the river in front of her house. She ran down trying to call him in. There was 50 feet of ice and the dog didn’t have the strength to pull itself up.”
Van Dyke-Jacobsen immediately called bylaw and the fire department for help.
“It was heartbreaking to watch,” she said. “Bylaw assessed the situation and the fire department was on the way. A bylaw officer called ahead to a vet while the fire crew pulled down a yellow raft and skirted it out onto the ice. The dog had a collar on and they were able to grab that and pull the dog onto the boat.”
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Bylaw took the dog to a vet in Valleyview, while Van Dyke-Jacobsen posted the situation on the Dallas Community Facebook page, looking for the owner.
“Thankfully his owner recognized her dog right away and got in touch and was reunited with the dog,” she said. “Dallas is a fabulous, supportive community and the neighbours are all so grateful this had a happy ending.”
Owner Andrea Leslie was at work at the time of the incident.
“I am so grateful for our community of Dallas,” she said. “The way everyone worked together to ensure the safety of our dog just goes to show how amazing the people around here are. We are forever grateful. Cooper is doing well now and we are so happy to have him home.”
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