Pet safety and unexpected consequences

[Kevin Henderson]

Hi All,

I've been away for awhile and my sailing has been nonexistent since November 17th.  As many know, I had to put Pau Hana in a "lay-up state" in the water since November.

The reason why:

I have a large dog "Daisy".  She is a Labrador Retriever Shepard mix and loves to go to the boat and sailing, (Although all she really does when we go out for the day is sleep on her bed down below).  Daisy loves to accompany me to the boat and hang out while I do my various little projects around the boat.  On this particular day, like any other, Daisy walked with me down the dock and like any other day she stepped aboard the boat from the steps to the cockpit.  However, this time she missed her footing and found herself falling backwards into the water between the dock and the boat.  My first fear was she had hurt herself in falling and I was afraid she could somehow come up under the dock.  To my immediate relief she came up paddling away and swimming strongly (like a Lab).  As she was swimming she was seeking a way to get back up onto the dock.  I immediately dropped to my stomach and laid down on the dock and held on to her to keep her from swimming away aimlessly.  The situation intensified when 2 things quickly became apparent:
1.  I could not lift my 90 pound dog by myself from the dock.
2.  There were no areas accessible for her to climb out of the water on her own.
As I lay on the dock holding her as best I could, and quietly realizing how serious the situation could become, I saw that a neighbor of mine was at his boat.  Thankfully, he came over and together, we were both able to lift the soaking wet dog out onto the dock.  There was a moment however that I felt as we were lifting that we were not going to be successful.  In a surge of adrenaline, I applied a little more "Oomph" and Daisy was thankfully up on the dock safe and sound.  Like most water dogs, Daisy thought that was the most amazing swim she had ever had and was jumping around the dock like it was party time.  I thanked my neighbor for his help (along with giving him a nice bottle of wine) and proceeded to wash Daisy down.  I noticed she was bleeding from her leg and realized that the day was a waste and drove her to the vet to be looked at.  Daisy must have cut herself on some barnacles because she required 4 stitches, some antibiotics and the privilege of wearing the "cone of shame" for a week.  That evening explaining the days events to my wife I mentioned that my left arm felt pretty sore.  I took off my shirt to show her and to both our amazement, my bicep muscle was sticking up in an obscene way similar to Popeye's massively swollen "mus-cules".  After a couple doctor visits, x-rays and an MRI, it was confirmed that I had completely torn my upper bicep tendon.  Surgery was performed to reattach the tendon and a screw was inserted into my humorous to anchor the tendon in its new spot.  Its now 11 weeks post surgery and things are going quite well albeit I'm still a couple of weeks out from doing any heavy exertion on my left arm. 
Here is what I learned from this experience:
1.   I have always made my dog wear a lifejacket while aboard the boat.  The exception to this rule is when she is down below inside the cabin.  Whenever she comes topside her lifejacket is on and she stays inside the cockpit. 
2.   I have drilled for the unfortunate occurrence, that if Daisy fell into the water (with lifejacket) that like any man (dog) overboard, I would come around and retrieve her with a boathook and tie a halyard to the jacket and hoist her up.
3.   Shame on me for not requiring my pet to wear a lifejacket while on the dock.  The thought never really occurred to me what I would do.  I guess I always assumed there were enough people around and that there would be somewhere for her to extricate herself from the water.  (Look around your own marina and see that there are many times few areas that are accessible)
4.   Lifting a 90 pound dog from the water onto the dock is simply impossible for one person!
5.   Since there was no immediate area for Daisy to get herself out of the water, I purchased a "SKAMP RAMP".  I keep this ramp at the ready at my dock box and it can be easily deployed and secured to a cleat so that my dog (any dog) can save themselves from the water. 
6.   Finally, Daisy now wears her lifejacket whenever we are on the dock.  Period!  I think I got lucky and while in the end it al seems kind of comical, the seriousness of the situation is quickly realized when one considers the 'what ifs" of the entire episode.

All in all, things are back to normal now and no worse for the wear.  I'm beginning my little projects on Pau Hana and looking forward to some spring sailing with my wife and of course, our furry First Mate... Daisy.

[tonywright]

Glad all ended (almost) well. Thanks for sharing the story. Several great lessons learned there. It is amazing what strength we find when we have to - although in your case with pretty serious consequences.

You reminded me of a docking maneuver that almost ended in tragedy. My wife fell betyween the boat and the dock as I was approaching the dock under power. (She tried to leap the gap, but snagged some clothing on a stanchion). Since we were almost at the dock, no lifejacket on. I threw the boat into reverse to avoid crushing her. She managed to hold her head out of the water by holding onto a line, but had cracked a hip bone and her pelvis, and could not pull herself out of the water. Once i had stopped the boat I leapt onto the dock myself, and managed to pull her straight out of the water onto the dock. Not quite sure how. The rehab for her was long and painful. We now also have a big focus on safety when approaching the dock: no leaping allowed.


Tony

[Les Luzar]

Kevin,
Thanks for the story and glad to hear that you are healing well and will soon be on the water. I never really thought about how to get a dog out of the water. We have many dogs that accompany their owners on our dock, yet I never even thought about how to get one out of the water. Sometimes people have the same problem once in the water, especially if they are hurt in the fall. Some other ways are using a halyard and winch, or a motor mount to hoist the dog out of the water. Also, in an emergency, a sailboat with an open transome, if around could help, even though you should never board anyone elses boat. However, it the case of life or death, I wouldn't think twice. I guess the lesson learned for all of us is to make sure that a dog has a lifevest that has the ability to hook on a shackle to hoist them out. I don't think I could lift an 80 lb dog, or a person heavier! Something to think about, non-the-less. Thanks for sharing your story!

[Stu Jackson]

Kevin, glad to hear you're both OK.  Rehab is a lot less fun than people make it out to be!  

Tony, perhaps you've seen this:  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5445.msg33766.html#msg33766  

Never jump onto the dock.  There is absolutely no reason to do so if you're in the US, there are dock cleats and you don't have short docks with pilings, 'cept if you live in Canada with no cleats!    Then buy a grapnel hook and tie it onto a line.

[mregan]

I had a similar situation with my 70lb Lab a couple of years back.  She was peering into the water, looking at some fish and fell in.  Before I could grab her, she swam into the channel between the slips.  About 4 slips down there was a powerboater at the slip with a swim platform close to the water.  I was able to get Sydney to swim over to the platform and haul her out of the water.  If the power boat wasn't there, I'm not sure how I would have gotten her out.  It's a good 2' drop from the dock to the water.

[scotty]

Keven, glad you're OK (or at least on the mend) and Daisy too!  Good topic for thought.  I agree with Stu.  I never let people jump onto the dock.  It's part of my standard instructions while approaching.  I just installed an outboard hoist (even though I don't have an outboard) for the Man Overboard (or in this case, Dog Overboard) retrieval.  I also rigged it with a snatch block so that I can easily pass a line onto it.  I have a swim step, but if I didn't, I would consider adding one.  There are some nice pictures of swim platforms on one of the threads - or the wicki ? - on this site.  We should all have a retrieval plan for our boats.

[Ralph Masters]

When I used to teach Rescue diving as a PADI instructor, one of the items I tried to impress on divers is have a plan on how to get a person out of the water back onto the boat or dock.  The freeboard on our boats is only about three feet, but how do you get 150 pounds up three feet?  If they can help themseves a bit it'll be easier, but if they are suffering hypothermia or unconscious then what.  This should be talked about by your sailing mates and a plan made before hand.

Ralph

[Stu Jackson]

"Conventional thinking" says:

1.  Most docks do NOT have ladders to get out of the water.  They should and some jurisdictions are beginning to require that marinas install ladders at regular intervals.  The politicians are still discussing what "regular" means!

2.  Look around your marina and find, as Kevin did, the closest power boat with a swim platform.

[efhughes3]

My late & beloved Chocolate lab Kai did the same thing last year-slipped going from the dock step onto the boat. I guess my adrenaline kicked in, as I grabbed him by the shoulders and caught him in mid-air. As he was 95lbs, it wasn't good on my back. After that, I always sat on the dock step and guided him on the boat.

At the end of the day, he never did adapt to the boat well-too late in life, I suppose. We did get a nice life jacket for him to wear on board, with a good handle at the spine-my thought was I could hoist him up be that, if needed. In retrospect, it should have been mandatory attire for the docks too. I surely miss that old guy.