Dramatic dog rescue by Perth East Fire Department

Ladders and backboards were used to safely extract the dog from the swampy area off Perth Road 107. Photo courtesy of Perth East Fire Department

By Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A frantic dog owner was forced to call 911 last week after her dog wandered off the trail and ended up stuck in a swampy area near Shakespeare.

Barb Myers is a captain at the Shakespeare station of the Perth East Fire Department. She said she was looking to find the best path to retrieve the dog, but there wasn’t one available.

“The area was covered in leaves so we couldn’t see any of what was there. Then all of a sudden, the water was over my knees. I managed to pull myself out by leaning over and grabbing onto a tree. Another captain came through with a ladder and ended up three feet deep as well.”

Myers said she couldn’t even see the dog, a decent-sized collie.

“I asked what are we setting up for here because I didn’t see it. All we saw was his eyes and nose eventually.”

The dog owner left the animal and went back to the road just off Perth Road 107.

“She had to come out so we knew where we were going. We had a ballpark idea where to go, where the Avon Trail meets the road. We went in with ropes and a couple of shovels because we didn’t know what we were getting into.”

The dog was found about half a kilometre into the bush and Myers explained they went back to the fire truck to retrieve the equipment they needed.

“We brought an extension ladder that folded out into one long piece, but it wasn’t long enough. We laid it down as kind of a bridge. We went back to get another ladder and backboard, like what is used to do a spinal rescue. Anything that would give us a bit of a float and not drag the firefighters down to the bottom.”

One of the crew was able to crawl out and grab the dog by the collar. Myers said there was no pushback from the collie.

“I am sure he was exhausted because he had gotten in and tried to get out but ended up going further into it. Another firefighter went out and they passed the dog from one to the other and we got him out. Once he got some footing he ran to his owner.”

Myers provided some advice for hikers and dog owners using the trail.

“According to the Avon Trail rules you are supposed to stay on the well-marked trails and dogs are supposed to be leashed. So, this owner did not have her dog on a leash and it took off into the bush which is how we ended up there.”

She added while volunteer firefighters are not dog rescuers, she understood the owner didn’t have any other option for help.

“She had a phone but how would she get someone to come with something to help? She tried to rescue him as well and was muddy, but she couldn’t get in there far enough.”

Myers added some humour at the end of the interview with the Gazette.

“We haven’t had any cats in trees, but we’ve had dogs in swamps.”