Bystanders who witnessed a heroic stranger rescue a dog from an icy lake are saying the dog’s owner did nothing to help her dog even after he fell through the ice and struggled to get free.
Visitors to Shawnee Mission Lake in Lenexa, Kansas, were enjoying a sunny but cold day at the dog park there when, according to witnesses, many people noticed a dog who had fallen through the ice after the dog’s owner had thrown a tennis ball into the middle of the lake.
One person who says that they were at the lake uploaded a video to YouTube and wrote as description, “An owner threw a tennis ball into the middle of a frozen lake, watched her dog run to grab it, saw the dog fall through the ice, and did nothing.”
“The dog was treading water for 3 to 5 minutes while about 20 to 25 people were screaming at this owner to go save her dog, the owner literally sat down on the bench said he’s fine, and did nothing,” the video’s description continues. “So one brave man jumped in to save the dog from drowning.”
The man that plunged into the icy water used his fists to break the ice to get to the dog. He has been identified as David Hysom by KCTV 5 News. Others joined him in the water to help as he and the dog began to reach shore.
According to another person who apparently filmed the rescue and uploaded it to YouTube, “Many people started to notice a dog struggling when it [the dog] fell through the ice. After multiple attempts to notify an owner by yelling, a ‘he’s fine’ was heard. David didn’t hesitate. After taking his shoes and pants off, he broke through the ice by jumping on his knees at first, then pounding with his arms to make a path to the struggling pup. After back on land, multiple people thanked David, except a thank you from the dog owner.”
“He just had to get out of there,” Hysom later told KCTV 5 News about the drowning dog. “It was just a situation that you could tell he wasn’t going to make it. If you watched the video, you could see him – his head start to go down a couple of times. The dog was not athletic at all. So, it was just one of those things I couldn’t imagine my dog being out there.”
Kaitlyn Schneider, who witnessed the rescue, has nothing but praise for Hysom. She said, “[He] deserves the credit…All the credit in the world. That was very selfless, and I know that water was not warm.”
But she had harsh words for the dog’s owner, who she alleges didn’t take action. “If anyone knows this woman – please take her dog from her,” she wrote on a Facebook post. “She threw her dogs’ tennis ball out into the middle of a frozen lake at the Shawnee Mission Dog Park, watched her dog run out and fall through the ice, then proceeded to sit on the bench and say ‘what do you want me to do’ ‘he’s a dog’. This poor dog was treading water for 3-5 minutes while we were all screaming at this women to save her dog!! Luckily a brave man jumped into the lake and saved the pup.”
“And the owner didn’t even tell him thank you, and CONTINUED to throw the damn ball even after her dog almost drowned,” she continued in her post. “You can see in the photos where the ice was broken and the lady still throwing the ball out there.”
Schneider opinioned, “Some people simply should NOT own animals. This was horrifying and I’m glad this dog didn’t drown.”
Another viewer commented, “Stupid woman. That dog would be dead in minutes if the brave man hadn’t rescued it. Respect man.”
Another YouTube commenter, who says they live in the area, was also grateful the dog was saved, “I live here, just the day before a 21 year old man drowned in the same frozen lake. I am so thankful at least this one life was saved!”
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