One rambunctious pooch found out the hard way that dogs, docks, and ducks don’t mix.
Megan George and her brother visited the local pond in Brampton’s Chinguacousy Park to feed ducks, bringing along George’s dog, Moka, for company.
When Moka, a Huskie and miniature Collie mix, saw the clan of ducks in the water, she gave chase. She dived into the pond, completely submerged in the water, when all of a sudden she became trapped under a nearby dock.
George and her brother tried to get Moka out from under the platform, but they couldn’t lure the dog out.
“She was howling and starting to freak out,” George told CBC News.
That’s when George realized it was time to call the pros.
She contacted the local fire department, who rushed to the scene. At this point, Moka had been trapped for about an hour.
When the firefighters arrived, they tried to persuade the dog out of her hiding spot. When that failed, they put on their dry suits, helmets and dived into the cold water.
“[George] was lucky enough to get the technical rescue team to be the first responders on the scene,” Capt. Rick Saran told the CBC about the rescue. “They were able to climb underneath the dock and coax the dog out of its precarious situation.”
George says she felt awful that the firefighters had to get into the water—because as Ontarian cottagers know all too well, lake temperatures in May range somewhere between “refreshingly” brisk to a chilly “I can’t feel my toes” freezing—but Capt. Rick Saran insists his team was happy to help.
After the dock fiasco, George says she’s going to keep Moka on a tighter leash next time they’re around wildlife.
“She does like to swim,” she said. “Probably a little bit too much.”
Despite Moka’s determination, the ducks outswam the pooch and were not harmed during the pursuit.