Regina Fire Department Capt. Ralph Braden can’t stop laughing and petting Chopper the dog.
They are reuniting two days after the four-month-old puppy almost drowned Friday. Chopper was off leash when he began chasing geese on Wascana Creek in West Regina. When the pup fell in, its owner called 911 for help.
“This soaking wet little puppy dog… the dog was just exhausted.”
Chopper suffered hypothermia. He was cared for by ambulance crews before seeing a veterinarian, who gave him an IV and fluid.
“We wrapped him up in my jacket – which still smells like wet dog, but I couldn’t be happier,” Braden said.
Braden is happy Chopper is alive and well and back in the hands of his owner but this outcome could have been tragic. Spring and warm weather creates uneven and unsafe ice surfaces. It’s a danger to both people and pets.
“What people don’t see is what is underneath the ice,” said Angela Prawzick, public education officer with Regina Fire and Protective Services. “There are shelves of ice as is what happened with the puppy. The firefighters were able to get out there but had that puppy sunk any lower, he would have gotten trapped under the ice surface… and that would have been too late.”
Braden is hoping people will use Chopper’s close call as a safety lesson.
“It may look safe on top but believe me, those ice shelves collapse as soon as you’re on top of them,” Braden said.
As for Chopper, his owner says he still loves to chew up everything and he’s more active now than ever.
Comments