Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 164 total)
  • Yesterday I did something stupid, but would have done the same?
  • j3w3ll3r
    Free Member

    My disabled MIL (walks with 2 walking sticks) jumped in the river Chelmer after my dog slipped in (my dog is 10 stone…..), she then got stuck herself and both had to be rescued by a very nice chap on his way back from work

    In the all the commotion she lost her £2,000 diamond bracelet, least I could do was replace it. Never did get to thank the chap as he went about his business once he ensured both MIL and dog where ok

    _tom_
    Free Member

    In the heat of the moment I’d probably do the same without thinking of the risks til it was too late and realised how stupid I was! Luckily you got out of it ok though, glad you and the dog are safe 🙂

    binners
    Full Member

    Christ on a bendybus! I can’t work out if you lot are interfering with Darwinism, or helping it along?

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    patriotpro
    Free Member

    Count your blessings and learn your lesson (keep it under control)…

    mulv1976
    Free Member

    I’m with binners on this one. I’d like to think I wouldn’t risk leaving my two kids without a dad to save a pet that was dumb enough to get itself in that situation. But in the heat of the moment who knows….

    MTB-Rob
    Free Member

    Hard to say, but I think he did the “correct thing” at the start, followed the dog down river, (you hear people jumping in straight away!)
    But then when he saw the dog in real trouble he weighed up his options, first post I would say he was VERY stupid, but then he let slip in another post he a good swimmer and surfer so I sure he took that into account.
    So I put it down to been a bit stupid to go in after the dog.

    Glad you are both OK, enjoy your next trail blast with the dog (away from rivers?) 😆

    feckinlovebbq
    Free Member

    WOW there are some overly harsh words from some.
    Maybe it wasnt the wisest desision but that is what it is to be human. Live and learn you are both alright and thats the main thing. Glad it turned out alight!

    ghastlyrabbitfat
    Free Member

    OP, you were fortunate in getting out and have probably now had time to consider the consequences for your family if this had not been the case.

    Swift water is hard enough to cope with even if you have the experience – I’m sure the pinning force was something of a shock (hats off to all you paddlers). Coming from more than a few years of Scottish Mountain Rescue and being Swiftwater Rescue Technician qualified, I can happily say that in my experience water is much scarier than a thousand feet of exposure or anything firm ground can throw at you.

    Giving advice about such things is never easy but I would offer the following.

    Take ten seconds to view any hazardous situation objectively and ask “What if?”

    Regardless, I can understand that it must have been a highly emotive moment and well done for having the capability to get yourself and mutt out safely.

    teamhurtmore
    Free Member

    Glad you and your dog are ok. Very difficult situation which is why lifeguard training is very specific. From the outset, you need to step away from the natural reaction and this is where training is required as it is UNNATURAL. One of the first rules of life saving is to ensure that you do not put your or other lives at risk. If that means losing an animal or another person, then so be it.

    Rescuing dogs is sadly too common a cause of human deaths and the main lessons are that dogs are more likely to survive in the water than humans. As noted above a guy lost his life in the Rothay by Ambleside a few days ago. It sounds simple but obviously is not at all. But the best advice remains, resist jumping in the water to save anyone until all other options are exhausted and even then, think hard about your safety first.

    Del
    Full Member

    often a man may show his humanity through his attitude towards animals. some revelatory comments here.
    glad everyone came out safe and well OP. horrible situation to be in.

    elliott-20
    Free Member

    Nope. I think people diving in after pets are daft.

    If my dog was in difficulty I’d find it had to resist but I have to kids, I’d rather they had a dad than me have a dog.

    Like teamhurtmore says, it’s a very last resort. I was a lifeguard for a few years and the actual event of jumping in heroically to save someone is less than you think (or perhaps I was just lucky). Generally there’s a fair bit that can be done without putting yourself into deaths jaws as well.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    often a man may show his humanity through his attitude towards animals. some revelatory comments here

    I’m not sure you understand our point. Losing a parent, a son or a partner is a terrible thing. This is what I am arguing against, and it is from a humanitarian point of view.

    So don’t accuse me of lack of humanity.

    wiggles
    Free Member

    Depends on the situation but wouldn’t risk leaving my kids without a dad over a dog.

    crashtestmonkey
    Free Member

    people do it, people regularly die doing it.

    often a man may show his humanity through his attitude towards animals. some revelatory comments here

    worth dying and depriving your family of a loved one to save something people eat? Applying a bit of perspective in the cold light of day doesnt make someone inhumane, nor does acting recklessly with no thought of the consequences in the heat of the moment, fuelled by adrenaline and emotion make you humane.

    Some of us on here are the people who risk their lives trying to save you when youve risked yours…

    FFJA
    Free Member

    As a fireman:
    Professional view- Dogs mostly manage to self rescue, have been to jobs with dogs through ice where I’ve refused to commit crews due to no known location for the dog and risk of losing a ff through the ice..

    As a dog owner- I imagine I’d jump in everytime, very very hard not too!

    Stay safe out there folks

    samuri
    Free Member

    If that had been our dog my wife would have kicked me in to save it.

    If I’d have died saving it, well, cest la vie.

    esselgruntfuttock
    Free Member

    Beaten by Samurai!

    molgrips
    Free Member

    If I’d have died saving it, well, cest la vie

    Wow.

    My wife would not let me go in after a dog!

    tomd
    Free Member

    I’ve done a lot of white water kayaking and white water rescue training. I wouldn’t jump in even if there was a person involved, trees and fast flowing water are a very easy way to die. The pressure exerted by even relatively slow moving water will drag you under no bother. I can understand why you jumped in but you were very lucky. You need to do your best to help without putting yourself in serious danger.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    Makes you think doesnt it. No idea what I’d do. My dogs terrified of water so doubt it’ll ever happen!
    Binners, I find people who dont like dogs are mostly dead on the inside.

    mulv1976
    Free Member

    Binners, I find people who dont like dogs are mostly dead on the inside.

    I hope that’s tongue in cheek – otherwise it’s a ridiculous thing to say.

    Duggan
    Full Member

    No idea what I’d do but you’re being overly harsh on your family and friends reaction- they’re 100% right when they said you shouldn’t have gone in.

    Del
    Full Member

    I’m not sure you understand our point. Losing a parent, a son or a partner is a terrible thing. This is what I am arguing against, and it is from a humanitarian point of view.

    So don’t accuse me of lack of humanity.

    i don’t think you understood mine, and i didn’t accuse you of anything. enjoy the rest of your day.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    I hope that’s tongue in cheek – otherwise it’s a ridiculous thing to say.

    almost as stupid as the person it was in reference too

    I hate to break with the cosy reassuring consensus here, but…. I’ve always thought that, far from being intelligent creatures, as is often claimed, dogs are probably the most mindless and profoundly thick creatures on the planet. Then I look at the people who generally tend to own them, and I have to revise my opinion. They’re actually only the second most stupid creature

    globalti
    Free Member

    You dived in to save the dog’s ass? Was the ass out for a walk with you as well?

    On a serious note: I might enter water to save an animal or a human but I certainly wouldn’t dive, that’s unnecessarily dangerous.

    allthepies
    Free Member

    I don’t like dogs and so don’t have one. I’d never risk my own life to attempt rescue of one and am saddened when I hear of people losing their lives jumping into frozen/swollen water to do just that.

    mulv1976
    Free Member

    I don’t like dogs and so don’t have one

    Are you mostly dead on the inside?

    mattbee
    Full Member

    1- **** off Binners, you arsehole.
    2- I know it’s absolutely not what you are supposed to do but if I was in the same situation with my dog I would be in there after him so fast… As others have said if he was ‘just’ getting washed downstream I think I’d be following the bank and trying to encourage him to shore but seeing him trapped and drowning would probably override any sense I may have.

    lordmerchant
    Free Member

    no hesitation whatsoever, id be right in after me hounds

    flap_jack
    Free Member

    IMO you have crossed from human to hero. Don’t try and cross too often though !

    kiwiem
    Free Member

    Of course the dog can be easily replaced! Go down the dog’s home and there are plenty. Your family can’t exactly get a new ‘you’ however. It was stupid and you were just very lucky. In addition to the flow of the water pinning you or dragging you under, the temperature could also see you hypothermic or worse very quickly.

    I also cannot believe emergency services are having to waste their time on pets through ice etc. You wouldn’t let them off the lead next to a busy road would you so why is fast running/icy water any different?

    I await all the dog lovers blasting me for my callous views…..

    Northwind
    Full Member

    I think I might do the same.Who really knows? And then afterwards, I would probably feel stupid and shaken up. And if I was your family, I’d definitely tell you off.

    If I was your dog, I’d probably just spend all day licking my balls.

    tonyg2003
    Full Member

    I did the much more sensible thing in the same circumstances. I made the Mrs jump in! Not quite the swollen river scenario but river estuary. She stripped off and jumped in after our Border (guide to Borders “they have almost cat like balance” errrr right!) and I stayed on the bank side to pull her up the side of the estuary. Not risky but very funny and fisherman opposite were appreciative of stripping 🙂

    grum
    Free Member

    2- I know it’s absolutely not what you are supposed to do but if I was in the same situation with my dog I would be in there after him so fast…

    So despite the fact that:

    a) the dog is more likely to be able to self-rescue than you are to be able to save it
    b) there is a high change that you are going to risk your own life by jumping in, and potentially those of others who will try to rescue you

    Loads of people are still saying they would go in without a moment’s hesitation. 😕

    This is actually a basic human failing, which is that we value action over inaction, never mind how effective it is. No-one is ever commended for bravely waiting in the face of overwhelming pressure to do something, even if it turns out to have been the right thing to do.

    It’s understandable in the heat of the moment but a bit disappointing that lots of people will sit there at home and calmly reflect that they would do something completely irrational though.

    binners
    Full Member

    Well from the highly thought through, intelligent and articulate responses from people who would leave their children fatherless for the sake of a big, daft furry shitting machine, who’s probably a lot better swimmer than they are anyway, I now feel a bit silly for suggesting that is in fact the behaviour of an idiot

    So… Apologies for even suggesting it. It’s clearly me confusing heroism with idiocy. An easy mistake to make. Sorry!

    mattbee
    Full Member

    Luckily for me, I’m unable to have children so they won’t miss me. My wife would probably be in there with me, she anthropomorphises the dog even more than I do.
    What I’m doing though is both considering what I would do in the same situation and also, rather than just trying my best to be the ‘cock’ of STW attempting to empathise with the op and reassuring him that although his actions were foolish he isn’t alone in the way his emotional attachment to his pet has made him behave.

    grahamt1980
    Full Member

    I just think the OP is very lucky, like others who have commented I love white water kayaking and have also trained as a lifeguard. And in all honesty there is no way would I have gone in after the dog.
    Def run along the bank and see if there is a way of helping from dry land, but dive in? Not a chance.
    Glad the OP and dog are ok, but I would think you should consider is your dog more important than your kids (if you have any) and wife being without a dad/husband?

    hora
    Free Member

    In a rough swell off a beach- if a dog is struggling so will you. Sadly if it was the sea or iced-lake etc NOT a chance. I’d like to say I would for another human but Ive never been tested. So who knows?

    Edit. Just seen binners post ^ +1

    This is from me- If youve ever ridden with me I stop to stroke EVERY dog that we pass.

    The owner of the Woodbine cafe warned me about stroking her (?) dog. It came and leant/sat against my leg ‘oh hes never done that before’.

    Sorry, harsh but binners +1, 000

    oldboy
    Free Member

    + 1 Binners. Brilliant responses, mate!

    _tom_
    Free Member

    I completely understand where binners is coming from but as someone who’s always had and been around dogs it’s hard to say whether I could just let it go. One of them things where you don’t know what you’d do til the situation actually arises.

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 164 total)

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