Kobe’s life likely flashed before his puppy-dog eyes, as he tumbled over the edge at Kennedy Falls on Monday.
Luckily, his owner and some bystanders were able to recover him from the water, and help carry the pooch down Big Cedar trail above Upper Lynn, explained Dwayne Derban, Asst. Chief with District of North Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services.
After Kobe’s fall, he was injured and unable to walk, apparently suffering from nerve damage, Derban said.
Firefighters were called in just after 2 p.m. When they arrived, the crew walked 10 minutes or so up the five-kilometre trail before running into Kobe and the people carrying him.
Then, firefighters helped Kobe onto a breakdown rescue stretcher and carried him down to the owner’s car in the nearby parking lot, Derban said.
Firefighter Derek Nordman, who helped handle the injured pooch, described Kobe as being “very friendly” but “shook up.”
Nordman said that he didn’t know how Kobe had fallen into the water, but that the dog seemed to be doing better by the time they got to the parking lot. His owner was then going to take Kobe to the vet at Mountainside 24/7 Animal Emergency, Nordman said.
While the firefighters said they didn’t do a lot to help in this instance, Derban said his crews take these kinds of calls seriously.
“Dogs are extremely important to folks,” he said.
