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linecook · 02-28-2012, 12:31 AM

Hi everyone. I’m a long time CPer and a long time lurker.

On Saturday I lost my best friend. It was because of my actions and my non actions. He was my dog Derby and he did not live near as long as he should have.

Here is my story:

My brother and I went ice fishing for the day on Eagle Lake. It started off pretty good; we had one bite 15 minutes in but never landed the fish. After that it was pretty slow but still a good day; I was able to spend time with my brother and my dog. We packed up around 3:00 and headed home. On the way out we had noticed a pressure ridge in the ice in the center of the lake. For those who don’t know (me included until Saturday night) a pressure ridge is when the ice comes together and forms plateaus, similar to tectonic plates and how the mountain ranges were formed. It felt right to stay clear of these but on our drive home off the lake the snow was blowing so hard that we couldn’t see 20ft in front of us. That’s when the #### hit the fan.

At first I thought I had just crashed in to a snow bank; I was worried about the company truck I was driving and how to explain to my boss what had happened. I put the truck in park, took my seatbelt off, and opened the door...well tried to anyway. My brother tried to open his door and couldn’t get it open either. The door wouldn’t open because we were sinking in the water. I was able to put my back up against the middle console and kick the door open. At first it would only budge a little bit, but I was able to press against it with all my effort and get it open enough. That’s when the water started gushing in...it was a scene out of a movie. I was able to squeeze through the door and jump over the open water on to the stable ice. I didn’t even have time to look back to see my brother in his seat or my dog in the back. When I saw my brother come through the driver’s door and jump to safety I breathed a sigh of relief. Next was my dog...I called for him to come out. He didn’t come. It didn’t take long for the cab to completely sink under the water, maybe 30 seconds at the most. I ripped my jacket off and was ready to jump in after my dog until my brother held me back. He told me that there was nothing I could do. It was the hardest thing to see, knowing my dog was still in there waiting for me to get him. Words cannot explain the feeling, watching your dog die, and not even being able to do anything about it.

My brother, funny enough, had his phone with him because he was checking the weather because he thought it felt a lot colder than the -8C that the truck indicated. He called 911 and RCMP, fire and EMS was dispatched. I couldn’t leave knowing my dog was still in there, but we were still in the middle of the lake and my jacket had blown away in the wind when I took it off to jump in. Emergency crews were not going to be able to find us in the blowing snow and poor visibility so we knew we had to trek it off the lake to the shore. I just couldn’t leave but knew it wouldn’t be long until I succumbed to the cold if I didn’t. My brother gave me his underlying jacket and his toque and we walked in to the -20C wind with wet clothes. It was the hardest walk of my life. After about 10 minutes of walking we found an RCMP cruiser and she waived us over to get in. I don’t remember being cold but remember shaking uncontrollably. The fire department showed up and got their gear on and I pointed them to the direction that the truck was. It had cleared up and I could see the back end of the truck sticking out of the water. Had I known, I wished I would have at least jumped in the back of the bed and broken the glass to pull out my dog. This will haunt me for a long time.

The fire department confirmed that he was dead in the back but the water had frozen over and they couldn’t get him out. I called my wife; she was down in the US visiting her parents with my 8 month old son. She tried to get a flight that night but wasn’t able to so she flew home the next morning. She is with me now and we can mourn together. She is just glad that my brother and I are safe. It is hard to sleep, shower, or be warm in our house knowing that my dog is still in the cold lake. Hopefully tomorrow we can pull the truck out so we can say our goodbyes.

Thank you Derby for being such a good friend and companion. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save you. You’ll always be in my heart.

02-28-2012, 12:31 AM	#1
linecook Backup Goalie Join Date: Aug 2005 Exp:	Lost my best friend Hi everyone. I’m a long time CPer and a long time lurker. On Saturday I lost my best friend. It was because of my actions and my non actions. He was my dog Derby and he did not live near as long as he should have. Here is my story: My brother and I went ice fishing for the day on Eagle Lake. It started off pretty good; we had one bite 15 minutes in but never landed the fish. After that it was pretty slow but still a good day; I was able to spend time with my brother and my dog. We packed up around 3:00 and headed home. On the way out we had noticed a pressure ridge in the ice in the center of the lake. For those who don’t know (me included until Saturday night) a pressure ridge is when the ice comes together and forms plateaus, similar to tectonic plates and how the mountain ranges were formed. It felt right to stay clear of these but on our drive home off the lake the snow was blowing so hard that we couldn’t see 20ft in front of us. That’s when the #### hit the fan. At first I thought I had just crashed in to a snow bank; I was worried about the company truck I was driving and how to explain to my boss what had happened. I put the truck in park, took my seatbelt off, and opened the door...well tried to anyway. My brother tried to open his door and couldn’t get it open either. The door wouldn’t open because we were sinking in the water. I was able to put my back up against the middle console and kick the door open. At first it would only budge a little bit, but I was able to press against it with all my effort and get it open enough. That’s when the water started gushing in...it was a scene out of a movie. I was able to squeeze through the door and jump over the open water on to the stable ice. I didn’t even have time to look back to see my brother in his seat or my dog in the back. When I saw my brother come through the driver’s door and jump to safety I breathed a sigh of relief. Next was my dog...I called for him to come out. He didn’t come. It didn’t take long for the cab to completely sink under the water, maybe 30 seconds at the most. I ripped my jacket off and was ready to jump in after my dog until my brother held me back. He told me that there was nothing I could do. It was the hardest thing to see, knowing my dog was still in there waiting for me to get him. Words cannot explain the feeling, watching your dog die, and not even being able to do anything about it. My brother, funny enough, had his phone with him because he was checking the weather because he thought it felt a lot colder than the -8C that the truck indicated. He called 911 and RCMP, fire and EMS was dispatched. I couldn’t leave knowing my dog was still in there, but we were still in the middle of the lake and my jacket had blown away in the wind when I took it off to jump in. Emergency crews were not going to be able to find us in the blowing snow and poor visibility so we knew we had to trek it off the lake to the shore. I just couldn’t leave but knew it wouldn’t be long until I succumbed to the cold if I didn’t. My brother gave me his underlying jacket and his toque and we walked in to the -20C wind with wet clothes. It was the hardest walk of my life. After about 10 minutes of walking we found an RCMP cruiser and she waived us over to get in. I don’t remember being cold but remember shaking uncontrollably. The fire department showed up and got their gear on and I pointed them to the direction that the truck was. It had cleared up and I could see the back end of the truck sticking out of the water. Had I known, I wished I would have at least jumped in the back of the bed and broken the glass to pull out my dog. This will haunt me for a long time. The fire department confirmed that he was dead in the back but the water had frozen over and they couldn’t get him out. I called my wife; she was down in the US visiting her parents with my 8 month old son. She tried to get a flight that night but wasn’t able to so she flew home the next morning. She is with me now and we can mourn together. She is just glad that my brother and I are safe. It is hard to sleep, shower, or be warm in our house knowing that my dog is still in the cold lake. Hopefully tomorrow we can pull the truck out so we can say our goodbyes. Thank you Derby for being such a good friend and companion. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save you. You’ll always be in my heart.