COUPLE RESUCED AFTER CANOE OVERTURNS

(Algonquin Park, ON) - A couple from Burlington, Ontario are thankful to be alive after their canoe was swamped by high waves on Lake of Two Rivers in Algonquin Provincial Park on June 7, 2008. The incident was reported to the Whitney OPP after an observant tourist on shore noticed the canoe overturn. With the assistance of Ministry of Natural Resources staff, the couple and one dog were rescued after spending a half hour in the frigid waters. Although both required medical attention for early stages of hypothermia, both admitted that wearing their life jackets is what saved their lives. Unfortunately, one dog was lost when it got free of it’s personal floatation device.
Visitors to Algonquin Park and other bodies of water are encouraged to wear life jackets at all times and to watch weather and water conditions as these can change rapidly.


(Algonquin Park, ON) - Provincial Constables Brent Darraugh and Michael Recoskie of the Whitney OPP Detachment were dispatched to a single motor vehicle collision along Opeongo Lake Road in Algonquin Provincial Park, around 7:00pm on June 7, 2008. Three passengers were transported to hospital with minor injuries and the drive, 31 year-old, xxxx xxxxxxxxxxx of Toronto, Ontario, was charged with Careless Driving contrary to Section 130 of the Highway Traffic Act.


Markus
Etobicoke, Onterry-airy-airy-Ohhh!

**sigh**

why do you make me do all this work?

hehehe...thanks, I now have a new link to bookmark under "news".




Barbara

heh yeah.that's two coffees now!
mmmm...timmy's!

Markus
Etobicoke, Onterry-airy-airy-Ohhh!

How about I just throw timbits at ya?



LOL



Barbara

I just saw that Markus and was about to post it.

Dogs are good swimmers but even they can use lifejackets. It likely succumed to htpothermia combined with the loss of its lifejacket. The story does state it got out of its floatation device.

I always wonder how many people actually test out their pfd's? Or the ones they put on their kids or dogs, to see if the fit is appropriate? To see if there is any flotation value to the pfd's they've chosen? How they will work when you need them?

I'm not sure that enough people realize that fit is very important in a pfd. If you jump in the water and your pfd easily rises up past your head, you don't have it fitted properly.

And it's not going to do much good, as it floats away from you.




Barbara

yup, sad to hear. You'd think that a dog, assuming it was an average size and not one of those monster dogs, could scramble up on top of the hull of the overturned canoe. Who knows how the incident progressed? If anything, I'd thought a human would've died and the dogs to make it. Just my speculation as I play it through my mind. My condolences for the family's loss.

Markus
Etobicoke, Onterry-airy-airy-Ohhh!

It's something I always worry about...that the message to "wear a pfd" is getting through, but waaaay too much trust is put into the thought that wearing a pfd is the be-all and end-all to emergency situations.

It just ain't true in every scenario.

There's just not enough good, truthful information being put out there.



Barbara

Yup... Wonder if the human were wearing PFD's

I agree 100% that a life jacket for a dog is
and should be mandatory.. I now have one for DD


Thankfully it wasn't may temp waters... Those are fridgid

Rac n

My dog, miko is a wicked good swimmer, but she sinks like a stone as soon as she stops moving her feet. I found that out a few years ago when we went for a long swim and she got too tired. I had to hold her up while she rested.

I used to not wear my life jacket. Then I got a new comfortable one that doesn't feel awkward to wear. Now I even wear it on portages. I recommend, when the water gets warmer, practicing tipping and self + canoe over canoe rescue. Robin, Miko and I can now right, empty and get back into a tipped canoe without touching bottom with or without the help of a second canoe. With cold water expediency is very important.

Cheers,
Ben from The Wolf Den

Tks for posting Markus. Poor dog, my sympathies to the family. It sounds like there were 2 dogs + 2 adults, with one of the 2 dogs drowning. Pretty heavy load, depending on the size of the dogs, size of the boat and what they had in their canoe. Like most things, sounds like it could have been preventable by being more safety-conscious (e.g. paddling closer to shore/staying on-shore til the winds let up, etc).

I can't speak for all dogs, but mine are not swimmers and when they loose touch with the bottom (fall into pool's deep end, chasing seals over drop-off, etc), they are clumsy and panic quickly. I can't see them trying to stay afloat on a neutral buoyance swamped canoe, they'd roll off due to tippiness and likely head towards shore (if it can be seen through depending on wave size) or with the wind. Our dogs don't go tripping with us, so we don't have PFDs for them.

One can never overemphasize safety. I've enrolled my kids (6 and 8) in a canoe safety/paddling course offered through a certified instructor from a reputable outfitter here in town. We're headed to Meech lake this weekend for 3 hours of instructions (one on one). I have taught them some basics of paddling and safetry of course on my own, but it's a challenge with them and I'd rather leave it to am unbiased professional.

There is no excuse for not wearing a PFD - I recently purchased a new Kokatat model from Mt Coop this year - the most comfortable one I've ever warn and not a hindrance at all to paddling. So if you find yourself cursing your life jacket for whatever reason, it's time to go out and get fitted for a new one - there will be a model that will suit your needs (and your dogs).

Dogs are decent enough swimmers for short distances, but they do tend to tire easily, and out in the middle of LOTR, the poor puppy likely got very disoriented. Because of their relatively poor eyesight, dogs would have trouble picking out an appropriate shore to head toward. Also, depending on the breed, their covering of fur can be a detriment, because it weighs them down. They're fairly decent "out and back" swimmers when they're chasing a stick, but not in an emergency situation. Your dog would rely on you for instructions in a situation like that.
If I had to guess, I would think that the dog was a larger breed. They would tend to tire more easily.
After purchasing a pfd for your dog, it would be a good idea to let them swim around in it a bit. That way you can determine the fit. Just like a child, it also helps to build trust between the two of you, and increases the dog's confidence in the water.

I don't know how bad of eyesight they have. A few years ago a group of 4 of us went to Biggar Lake. Me and another guy went out in the canoe (from the point site to the mouth of Loughrin creek) as there was a moose there and we wanted to get some photos. I had asked the 2 remaining guys to watch my dog (a lab, border collie, husky mix. We were over at Loughrin taking some pics and for some reason I turned and noticed my dog swimming towards us (several hundred metres from the campsite). By the time he got to the canoe he tried to climb up, and he was too heavy to pull up (85lbs) so I just kind of dragged him off the side of the canoe while my buddy paddled back. He was quite tired by the time he got to the canoe and when we got back to the site he slept for a few hours. I do always have a pfd for him, but because I wasn't bringing him in the canoe that time, I never put it on him. The 2 remaining guys said that he stayed with them for about 10 minutes but then jumped in the lake and swam after us.

Another time my girlfriend and I capsized in Rock lake with Eddie in the canoe. We were only 20 feet away from shore and by the time we were in the water and I got orientated and realized we could just touch bottom, Eddie was already on shore shaking off. He was wearing his pfd that time, as were we.

I feel so vulnerable in a canoe - it doesn't take much of a wind to get swamped. I much prefer kayaking (and have more experience with kayaking so I'm more confident) but a canoe just seems like a bad idea when crossing large windy lakes.

We'll be hugging the shore on our trip.

Why more people don't stay near shore is beyond me. The shoreline is the beauty also. Anyone out in the middle of Cedar, Opeongo, Travers etc when their is a possibility of high winds/storms/rain etc, should be with Big Groups of people. Unless your jigging for trout wtf you want to be way out in the middle of a big body of water is beyond me, I guess the shortest way isn't ALWAYS the quickest way, its not worth the risk for me unless I am in a large group, its also never worth the risk to my dog.

On very windy days, it may not be the quickest. But I'd bet my odometer would be much less if I shorelined every trip. There are two times that I can recall having wished I'd gone along the shore due to high winds. Luckily, my paddling partner and I were strong enough to stay into the wind. All in all, I think it's a judgement call, though I'd be less apt to refer to it so casually as such for notorious lakes like Opeongo which I have not yet paddled.

Oh yeah, Kawawaymog can be treacherous at times, too. Very disheartening to come out of a long trip and have to paddle that just to get to your car. yikes

exactly - it's near the shore that you're going to see the wildlife, the plant life, it's sheltered, your're not going to die... it's all good!

I guess the greatest hazzard by the shoreline is the potential for surprising a moose.

SM....

In your post, you said re your dogs " chasing "seals" over dropoffs...??????

Where to you live???? Antartica???? Just curious.


Bo

Regarding calmer waters being rearer shore. On occasion it can be 'lumpy' on the windward side due to waves being bounced back from rocky shorelines, it pays to stay out a bit.

Sorry, that should be frigid of course, and not a message without name....

Bo - we used to live in Metchosen BC (10 minutes west of Victoria) on Vancouver Island ('96 - '04). The male Ridgeback (190 pds) we have used to 'chase' seals along the coast. When he'd see their heads bob up 50' off shore he'd go in, and quickly loose the bottom along some of the steeper beaches. He was all muscle, little fur and undercoat - his lower half would sink and he'd high tail it nose up back to shore, thrashing the water on his way in with his front paws. The odd time he'd go in when we were swimming in lakes he'd make a b-line for us and think we are an island and try to climb up on our backs or legs - very painful and dangerous for the both of us. His sister (now deceased) would never go in above her knees. He's 10 now.

Dogs are colour blind - they lack the cones that detect colour. It drives my dog nuts when we throw her red ball into long grass - she relies on her judgement of the trajectory of the ball and the scent of it to detect it more than her eyesight.
Their peripheral vision tends to be better than humans, but not their distance sight. Because of the structure of their eyes, they have better night vision, and likely because of genetics can detect movement better.

An interesting resource: http://www.uwsp.edu/PSYCH/dog/LA/DrP4.htm




Foxco
Somewhere in the
Georgian Triangle
Ontario