Dog’s life saved by hero
courtesy photo
Bill Olson rescued Pita, a Red Heeler, after she fell into the frigid water in Indian Bay on the west shore of Flathead Lake Wednesday morning.
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
The frigid weather on the west shore of Flathead Lake had warmed from 10 to 20 degrees Wednesday morning, Jan. 18. With warmer temperatures, I raised the shades facing west to the lake.
Ice had formed on Indian Bay in front of the house for about 75-85 yards into the lake. I saw my neighbor’s black and white Australian Shepherd running along the edge of the ice. Loki is a puppy who has become fast friends with our Red Heeler, Pita. As I watched Loki race along it was obvious that he was chasing something in the water. I saw a dark object moving in the water along the edge of the ice. Using binoculars I zeroed in on the object and saw that it was the head of a dog. Not recognizing the dog, I called my neighbors, Peggy and Bill Olson, to ask if their dog was home. It wasn’t their dog. When I told Peggy about the dog in the water she said Bill would be right down. Not 10 minutes later Bill was at my door with a soft rope, a life jacket and a let’s-go attitude. Once outside I realized that Pita was missing, she was in the water. Bill asked for oars and pulled my canoe onto the ice. I put Loki in the garage to keep him out of harms way. Bill put one knee into the canoe and used the other to pull himself and the canoe out onto the ice. Even with the temperatures below 10 degrees for weeks the bay had not frozen until a couple of days before when a solid mass of ice had formed. I was concerned that the ice wouldn’t hold Bill. He slid the canoe within feet of the ice edge and began trying to throw a lasso around Pita’s head. After eight to ten tries it worked. He pulled a near-lifeless Pita out of the water and lifted her into the boat. After sliding the canoe away from the edge he wrapped Pita in his coat. She laid in the bottom of the canoe shivering uncontrollably. Bill reached the shore and we carried Pita in his coat to the house where it took several hours to warm her. By evening she was back to normal.
We have a human hero in Bill, who risked his safety, and a dog hero in Loki who stayed with his struggling friend to signal that help was needed. Bill’s wife, Peggy, had called neighbors and emergency services for help.
What we have learned from this experience is that by calling 911, trained personnel are available to save a life … even a dog’s life.
