To think anyone who goes on to a frozen pond to rescue a dog is stupid?

[KimiLivesInStarbucks]

On tonights news two more people have dies trying to save dogs Every time we get a bit of cold weather and Ice we hear these tragic stories of people dying after falling through the ice trying to save a dog.

I like dogs as much as the next person but a dog is replaceable.

So sad for the families,

I'm not a dog person, but I know there are lots of dog lovers on here, so I won't give my opinion directly related to going after dogs.
however I do think anyone who ventures out onto a frzen lake/river is stupid, for whatever reason. Year on year, as someone said, we hear stories about people who have died as a result of this. Why haven't people learned yet that it is dangerous??

These stories - obviously very sad and my sympathy goes out to surviving families - make me mad!

Fair point. They may make the feelgood stories in the local news maybe.

I would hope that the editors would have greater integrity than to publish a story that implied that ignoring every sane person and authority's advice can have a happy ending.

OTOH, how many people buy lottery tickets?

sad

I think starting a thread to call someone who has died stupid is in pretty poor taste. Just imagine how his family would feel if they were reading this.

A debate about whether you would go after your dog in this situation is fine (me - I'm with the 'no chance of risking leaving dc without a mum' camp) but to call someone who has died in a tragic accident stupid is pretty heartless tbh

Chippy my uncle died from falling under ice, before I met him. I know of the devasting effects it can have on family to lose someone this way. I remember my dad crying (t'was the first time I'd seen him cry) when he told me about the uncle I'd never meet. So I know all too well of the dangers.

As I said ideally, I'd wait untill the authorities got there to help. But I believe in the meantime instinct would take over. I couldn't bear to stand watching. But I have never been in that situation, thank god. And I never will be. Due my great, possibly verging on irrational and paranoid fear of frozen expanses of water, my dog will never be anywhere a frozen lake or pond for it to be able to happen. As I have never been in that situation I don't know for sure what I would do. But I doubt very much that I could not do something. I wouldn't just dive head first into the water, but I guess I'd least try paddling through the water (smashing the ice). Knowing me I would probably swim for him. Without thinking about the consequences.

I have risked myself for a friends dog once, when we were teens. He was chasing my more agile dog about near the harbour. My dog jumped some rocks. He fell and got wedged in between some rocks. The tide was coming in and the waves were quite strong and the dog would have drowned had we waited for help. So I paddled to his aide, and the fact that I am still here posting shows that it all turned out well.

Niether dog was ever allowed off leash on that part of the harbour again. My friend and I learned a valuable lesson about keeping our dogs safe and control.

Well the general opinion on here seems to be that your family is much more important than your dog!

There is no way in hell i would risk my life for an animal which, in most cases, seems to escape unscathed!

YANBU at all.
People who die just because they fancied walking on the frozen lake are even more stupid.
I'm sorry for their families but it's worth saying if people behave stupidly because unfortunately so many people seem to do it.
we were in the lake district a year ago and saw about 20 people walking and slidng around on a frozen tarn

there was a case a while back. a couple both died trying to rescue a dog from a swollen river (not frozen in this case). they had jumped in after it and left the pram on the footpaht i couldn't stop crying when i heard that

Bruxeur you are the only person on here talking sense. A dc/dh moment? WTF?

If I seriously thought dh would consider for a split second risking his life and leaving dd fatherless to dive in after the dog then I wouldn't be with him. That really is badly mixed up priorities and would need serious medical attention. Really worrying stuff

Have any of you here ever lost a parent at a young age? I have, and it screws up my life to this day. It is in every corner of my mind, every day of every week of every year. That's not to say I think about it all the time, but rather the effects that it has had on me are permanent and have affected many of the life decisions I have (or haven't in some cases) made. I can't take it back, take it away, or change it. The pain and anguish, and fear and anger, and lonliness and despair that have pursued me through the years. And you would risk that for a dog?

There are few, few cases where I would ever dream of saying this, but you seriously need to reconsider whether you should have had children if you genuinely feel that way.

Have just seen footage on the news of people walking on a frozen canal, these people almost deserve it go in, the stupidity of these people is outstanding.

I lost my dad when I was 12, you never get over it, he had a heart attack But I can not see the mentality of people on here who say they would leave a child without a parent to save a dog

Agree with Bruxuer (esp MENTALIST rant) and all the other people who think that risking life for a dog is not worth it.

"I can't imagine how awful I'd feel if I made no effort at all and she drowned - what a reward for years of unconditional love, affection and loyalty...your pack leader waving to you from the shore as you panic your doggy way to an untimely death" - a pack leader? I am not a pack leader of dogs, I am a human.

And this is typical of trying to attribute human emotion to a dog. Of course the dog wouldn't think 'cheers, mate, leaving me here to drown whilst you are all dry and safe'. What an absurd notion.

They are dogs, not humans.

Hello GOML I am very upset at not being ask to your wedding/ be bridesmaid and so on

I do not think it is in poor taste to say these people are stupid, they did a stupid thing and are stupid.

Jumping in a frozen lake to save a dog = stupid
Walking on frozen lakes, rivers, canals, = stupid

Lol Kimi - god no haven't even thought about the wedding. That's the good thing about having a boring old queit wedding, I don't have to plan owt!

Alot of accidents are caused by someone acting irresponsibly and irrationally, if someone broke their neck falling off a ladder that wasnt properly secured would there be a thread on here banging on about how stupid they were and how they put the cleanliness of the window over their children?
Or changing a lightbulb on a swivell chair, or texting while driving, or any sort of DIY when you havnt a clue what your doing, there are things that people do ALL the time that could put themselves in danger of injury or death with alot less at stake than the life of a dog.
I personally wouldnt try to save my dog from frozen water. Im petrified of falling through ice, and quick sand for that matter....I dont know why....anyway...I can understand that people do, at that moment in time you wont be thinking "I might die" just "I need to save the dog" also someone on here has pointed out that alot of people dont realise how dangerous it is. I bet 100s or even 1000s of people have been walking on ice this week, and we've had what 3 or 4 deaths?

presumably those who go after dogs don't imagine they could meet their death. they think they can do it!
and how do 999 operator's respond to requests for help with dogs on frozen ponds?

I love my dog to bits
completely to bits
onviouosy it is made more intense by the fact that me and neil got this dog together and he absolutely loved neil and was definitely neils dog

but would I go onto ice to save him

would I fuck

I would be screaming and beside myself
desperate not to lose neils dog but by fuck I would not risk my life
my kids need me more than our dog

I think anyone who has gone to the rescue of their dying dog in frozen water can only ever have acted on the spur of the moment, out of sheer panic and desperation. If they survive and rescue the dog, you will probably never hear about it. Those who lose their lives have paid the ultimate price. If they could go back and make another decision I'm sure they would but it can't work like that can it? It isn't a question of being stupid, it isn't that type of situation (unlike texting while driving).

The OP made no mention of whether you are a parent or not, btw, and I likened it to a 'dp or your dc' situation because (if you are a dog lover) it is a horrible dilemma that you hope you never face, I'm not actually equating the two situations.

Anyway, people who do this are acting out of love for their dog. If they are a parent, I'm sure they should think twice and I just hope I never have to stand and watch my (or anyone else's) dog drown. They will definitely be on a lead around frozen water in future.

If you still think I'm a 'mentalist' then fine, I certainly won't be rushing into any frozen ponds after you - is it any wonder some people love dogs more than other human beings?

pyjamababe if you wouldn't rescue a human because they think you are mad for risking your life rescuing a dog then I am afraid that you are indeed a mentalist.

I love my dogs. But at the back of my mind there's always that strong possibility that if I died alone and they were left in the house for any length of time, they'd eat me. Someone would break in due to the appalling smell and find my dogs bibbed up and asking "breast or leg?".

Thought I'd just throw that into the mix. I guess that means we're ultimately mobile pie-fillings from a doggy point of view.

Havnt people eaten people when desperate? No suprise a dog would. I wonder how hungry the dog would have to get before they tucked in? I reckon they would start howling and barking to be let out for a pee though, so someone would report it and you'd be found before it happened!

There are obviously some people who know that they wouldn't go onto ice to rescue a dog, and others know that they definitely would. However, I'm sure most people, like me, have no idea how they would react unless they were actually in that situation. As a very weak swimmer who is very scared of water, I can't be 100% certain that I would even jump in after one of my kids - I'd like to think I would but I don't know!

I agree that nobody attempts a rescue thinking that it's doomed so it's pointless to berate people for 'choosing' to leave their children orphans. I'm sure for each fatality involving dogs falling into frozen water there must be hundreds of cases with happy outcomes. If my dog found herself in the middle of water that I knew was really deep then I don't think I'd try and help. But if I knew the water wasn't too deep for me or if she was near overhanging trees that I could cling on to, or if there was a lifebelt or something I could use to keep myself afloat, then yes, I would. I don't think I could watch my dog die knowing that there was something I could do. I know some people find it unpalatable, but my dog is a family member and we all love her very, very much.

It's instinctive to try and help a person or creature you love and I doubt rationality comes into it at the time.

As an extension of this discussion, would you eat your pets if it was a you or them situation?

I adore my kitty and she would never be stupid enough to go on a frozen lake so should never need rescuing - the fact that she views the outdoors as some sort of vile aberration is a help here.

However if push came to shove it is time for roof rabbit pie. I would feel bad about it, but would still do it.

"I think starting a thread to call someone who has died stupid is in pretty poor taste. Just imagine how his family would feel if they were reading this." Dying doesn't make anyone less stupid - in fact the reason they are dead is because they were stupid..

As for these posts saying about what if the family were reading... well actually I imagine the family have more important things to worry about than reading threads on the internet. And even when they reach a point of being able to move on they will probably feel some realization that their family member was stupid for doing what they did.

As for the poster who said she would die for her dogs and wouldn't want to live without them, could one assume then that when they die you will kill yourself? Because let's be honest here - they are going to die, most likely before you do.

It is incredibly selfish to risk leaving your children motherless for the sake of a dog who will probably be dead within the next ten years anyway.