Firefighters rescue dog trapped on Charles River ice in Wellesley

By adamg on Sun., 3/8/2015 - 3:42 pm

The Wellesley Police Department posted this photo of a cold but otherwise okay Cooper with Officer Christopher Cunningham and Wellesley firefighters after his rescue at Elm Bank this morning.

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Comments

To head off some of the more annoying inevitable comments:

By Bob Leponge
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 4:12pm

Firefighters' job is to save lives and property. Legally, a dog is valuable property.
Firefighters' job includes saving property that was put at risk by people doing dumb things, like disposing of cigarettes carelessly, storing paint next to the boiler, or letting a dog loose in a risky place.
Firefighters are reasonably good at assessing risk and adjusting their response appropriately: while they'll risk their lives to save a human life, they're not going to put themselves at extreme risk to enter an unoccupied building, extinguish a car fire that isn't threatening anyone, or rescue a dog. Let's assume they knew what they were doing
Rescuing a dog does not take away from other, more important emergencies they might encounter. There is a dispatch center; there is a sense of priority, and, in the event of some other emergency, the dispatcher could easily have said, "leave the dog and go deal with the burning schoolbus."

4) Good training

By penguin_berry
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 5:34pm

4) At the very least, it can be considered a valuable training exercise.

you forgot another huge point ...

By kernelPanic
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 5:59pm

5. Training. Scenarios like this (being real and all ...) are way better at keeping skills current and gear in good shape. Especially the rarely used heavy / technical / ice rescue stuff that most regular 1st responders don't see every day

doh ...

By kernelPanic
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 6:00pm

beaten to the reply. oops!

Also

By anon
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 6:32pm

People will do anything to save their pets. It's easier for the firefighters to save the pet than it is to have to save the pet, its two owners, and a bystander, and have to deal with any "equipment" they jerry-rigged to expedite their little rescue.

Yes, it's right for the firefighters to respond

By anon
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 7:57pm

And kudos on another job well done.

However, the fact that they do respond doesn't remove culpability of the (possible) offender.

People clearly shouldn't smoke in bed, drive recklessly, or leave guns unsecured, etc.

Not sure if this was the case here, but pet owners also have a responsibility to keep their pets safe. Many never do and then can't believe when their pet gets in a precarious situation.

Video of Wellesley dog rescue up now

By BobB
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 4:44pm

http://theswellesleyreport.com/2015/03/deja-vu-wel...

A dog rescue by Wellesley police/fire got the firefighters on The Ellen Show last year...

Great video of the dog without a leash

By anon
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 8:06pm

And then the owner show up with leash around HIS neck. Next time put it on the dog, dude. People should be cited for incidents like this and be forced to pay fines that could go towards more training and/or equipment for the first responders.

That would depend...

By Bob Leponge
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 11:19pm

... on whether the owner was violating the leash law at the time (e.g., was the dog on private property, was the dog in an area were dogs are allowed off leash, etc...

No, it shouldn't depend

By anon
Mon, 03/09/2015 - 12:37am

If your dog is legally off-leash it should be under voice command. You also have an obligation to keep your dog save on private property. A dog on river ice is clear evidence of an owner's inability to keep their pet safe.

did you read the link?

By anon
Mon, 03/09/2015 - 7:30am

The dog ran off more than a day before.

I hope you don't have kids. So such of the parent/owner as perfect hero mentality. Get over yourself.

Poor dog

By Sock_Puppet
Mon, 03/09/2015 - 8:56am

He deserves better. The owner should be charged and sentenced to responsible dog ownership class. Walking your dog off-leash next to a river in these conditions is animal abuse.

Not animal abuse

By Bob Leponge
Mon, 03/09/2015 - 9:27am

Walking your dog off-leash next to a river in these conditions is animal abuse.

Never mind that these aren't the facts of this particular situation, but your argument would prohibit the use of hunting dogs in the winter, among other things.

Facts of the situation

By Sock_Puppet
Mon, 03/09/2015 - 9:45am

"The owner was walking the dog at Elm Bank Reservation on Saturday when Cooper bolted and disappeared."

This is a pet off-leash and not under control, as required by both the law and the morality of a responsible dog owner.

Hunting dogs are working dogs, not pets. They are trained and respond to voice commands (or they're useless as hunting dogs). An experienced hunter having a trained hunting dog off-leash is fundamentally different from some suburban schmuck having his untrained fluffy pet off-leash.

I read the link

By first anon
Mon, 03/09/2015 - 11:37am

I get it, the dog ran off more than a day ago. Did he grow an opposable thumb in that time, which allowed him to unclip his leash?

No, no he did not. And my kids or lack thereof have jack to do with this issue.

Leash Law

By CommonSense
Mon, 03/09/2015 - 6:02am

I'm pretty sure I know where this took place. It's a place where people go specifically to let their dog run off leash. But it is not a sanctioned off leash park. Any dog, even the best trained dog will take off if sufficiently enticed by sight or sound. The fact that Cooper didn't return suggests he is not that well trained in recall. Hopefully he will be kept on a leash in the future. But I'm guessing not

People should be cited for

By Bob Leponge
Mon, 03/09/2015 - 3:58pm

People should be cited for incidents like this and be forced to pay fines that could go towards more training and/or equipment for the first responders.

Slippery slope there.... if your house were to catch fire, do you think you should be fined and charged for the fire department's costs?

Because I'll pretty much guarantee that your house is at this moment in violation of multiple laws related to building safety.

What is the principle we should apply, to determine which instances of violating the law should get you fined and billed for the costs of rescue, and which should not?

Relieved

By JohnAKeith
Sun, 03/08/2015 - 5:00pm

I'm glad the child is okay.