Firefighters kept busy with multiple dogs going through ice in December

Ottawa Fire Services rescued “multiple” dogs that fell through ice in the nation’s capital over December.

The latest incident — caught on camera — shows a golden retriever struggling to stay afloat in the Ottawa River in the city’s east end. It happened on Dec. 30 in the late afternoon near the Blair Road Boat Launch.

Officials said that just before 3:00 p.m. a 911 call reported a dog, named Tika, had fallen through ice and couldn’t get out of the river.

“Tika actually got separated from the (ice) shelf, so she was free swimming away and managed to get back,” Dan Kirvan, Chief of Special Operations for Ottawa Fire Services, told CityNews in an interview.

In many incidents, animals and people fall through the ice that is a few feet from shore. Kirvan says this is because ice forms from the shoreline to the centre of the waterbody. In the instance of Tika, the dog went out onto the shelf of ice and fell through at the edge.

The caller identified themselves as the dog’s owner, and told dispatch that where Tika was located wasn’t right off the road. Quickly crews descended to the 300 block of Blair Road and confirmed a dog about 30 feet from the shore.

“It was about 500 meters downstream from from Blair Road…We knew that we weren’t going to be able to drive right to the site so crews could prepare,” Kirvan said.

Using a fortuna, a rescue craft, firefighters with the ice rescue team made their way out to Tika.

“The rescuer just helped her from behind and pushed her up and onto the ledge and she went back to shore,” Kirvan said.

After shaking off her fur, Tika was “doing well” officials said.

Firefighters are praising the dog’s owner who did exactly as they hope everyone would react in this situation: Stay on land and not try to rescue Tika themselves.

Kirvan also added that keeping the dog engaged by calling their name is another thing owners can do while they wait for crews.

“Dogs are much better suited to being in icy, cold water than we are. So, if we can get the pet owners to phone 911, and be able to direct us to where we need to go, that’s probably the best help they can give their pet,” he said. “We have had instances in years past where the owners have gone in and the pet is on the ice when we get there, and we end up helping the owner.”

This incident comes after multiple others over the month of December.

In a five-day span, firefighters responded several times to dogs going through ice in the city. Officials say the pets were on walks without a leash when falling through along the water’s edge.

Kirvan said crews were called on Dec. 2, 4, 5 and 7 to rescue a total of four dogs.

“Even if it’s normally your pet that isn’t on a leash, keep them on a leash, we don’t know what’s going to draw them out onto the ice,” he noted.

Although the culprit for calls is often the Ottawa River, officials said pets were also rescued from the Rideau River.

“I think what’s happening here, and it’s affecting all of us, is we normally have much better ice and snow this time of year, and so we’re around what would normally be thought of as stronger ice and it just isn’t that strong,” Kirvan said.

However, he stressed that “no ice is safe ice.”

“If we don’t have the skill or the knowledge to test ice, then just stay away,” Kirvan said. “For pet owners, keep your pets on leashes around bodies of water so that we’re not in this situation…It’s a very tough decision to not go out and help your family pet.”

On Dec. 11, the ice rescue team was called to the Manotick Marina where another dog went through the ice.

Crews said that when they arrived, the dog was able to self-rescue. It’s not just bigger dogs falling through the ice, Kirvan said, a small terrier puppy was one of the pooches saved from an icy dip in December.

There are six ice rescue stations across Ottawa, positioned to be close to the city’s major waterways but also where crews respond to more calls. An example is Station 22 in the Lincoln Fields area, close to downtown and Britannia Beach. The same teams responding to ice rescues are the ones rescuing people from the water in the summer.

“They’re all trained to a standard of what’s called a technician standard, which is the highest level of training that you can have in that discipline, be it water, swift water or ice rescue,” Kirvan said.