Man falls through ice trying to rescue his runaway dog in Regina

A man who went onto the ice to rescue his dog ended up needing rescuing himself Friday morning in Regina, prompting another warning from fire officials to stay off city waterways as spring conditions make the ice increasingly dangerous.

“The conditions aren’t good, and we’ve been recommending that people stay off. We always recommend people stay off bodies of water in the city, but right now they’re extremely unstable,” Deputy Chief Gord Hewitt of Regina Fire and Protective Services said.

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“This kind of reaffirms what we’ve been saying: Stay off bodies of water right now.”

Hewitt said crews were called to Wascana Creek at 10:44 a.m. after receiving a report that someone had fallen through the ice.

According to Hewitt, a man had gone out onto the creek after a dog that had run away and made its way onto the ice.

“We were contacted about somebody falling through the ice on Wascana Creek at 10:44 this morning,” Hewitt said.

“We responded there, found an individual who had fallen through the ice. Apparently, his dog had run off, got away and ran on the ice, and he went out to get the dog.”

The dog managed to get off the ice safely, but the man did not.

“When we arrived, we assisted him in getting him out of the water,” Hewitt said. “He had partially self-rescued, but our crews assisted in getting him out.”

Firefighters then focused on warming him up and making sure he was not injured.

“Our Medical Response Unit was on scene to treat him and assist him,” Hewitt said. “There was no significant injuries or anything like that. We just helped him get warm and transferred him over to EMS.”

The incident ended without serious injuries, but Hewitt said it should serve as a clear reminder of how quickly things can go wrong this time of year.

Ice that may still look solid can be weak and unpredictable as temperatures shift, especially on the creek pond and other bodies of water within the city.

Hewitt said people should not try to go after pets that run on unstable ice, even if the instinct is to act immediately.

“We recommend they phone 911. We have the resources and the tools to come out and rescue the pet,” he said.

“That’s kind of one of the things that we talk about every year when it comes to unstable ice conditions, or at any time, is if your dog runs out on the ice, or your pet runs out on the ice, call 911. Don’t go out and try to rescue your pet. Call us and we’ll come out and do that.”

For Hewitt, Friday’s call was another example of why that message matters. Although the animal made it back safely and the owner was lucky enough to be pulled out, he warned, that next time the outcome could be much worse.

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