Mar 09, 2010 - 07:25 PM

By Mike Johnston and Mandi Hargrave

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OSHAWA -- Cathy Rousseau hasn’t stopped crying.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday, three dogs she was walking at Darlington Park, near the General Motors headquarters in south Oshawa, went through the ice.

“I have never felt so helpless in my life. I knew the ice was thin but my dogs are strong swimmers and I never thought this would happen,” said Mrs. Rousseau, shortly after Oshawa firefighters were able to pull the two labs from the icy waters.

Mrs. Rousseau normally takes the two dogs, Quinton and Maya, to the Harmony Creek dog park, but because of the mud, a friend suggested Darlington Park. Her 13-year-old daughter was also along for the walk. It was her daughter who had suggested not letting the dogs off their leash.  

“That was my first and last time going there,” said Mrs. Rousseau who also had her son’s dog with her, a small puggle named Nacho.   

She said Maya, a black lab, started out onto the ice chasing some geese. Quinton and Nacho followed.  

“When we yelled to them to come back, all three just stopped and then went through the ice.”

Nacho was able to paddle quickly to shore but Quinton and Maya just kept spinning and spinning in the water.  

“My daughter yelled for me to call 911,” which Mrs. Rousseau quickly did, but when the operator was unable to get an idea of where the dogs were located, she asked Mrs. Rousseau for her cellphone number so she could call back.   

“I gave them my husband’s cellphone number by mistake,” she recalls, which led to a very confusing conversation when the 911 operator called back her husband as he was heading home from work, asking him where his two dogs were in the lake.  

 “It was like a comedy of errors,” said Mrs. Rousseau.   

Her daughter went to the GM parking lot and led firefighters to the area.  

 It wasn’t long before others heard her cries for help.   

“They (the dogs) were trying to get out and it was really hard for them,” said Tabbatha Parker, who was walking her dog nearby. Ms. Parker and other dog walkers had tried throwing branches and other debris into the water, attempting to rescue the dogs, who were paddling feverishly to stay afloat.   

Among the items thrown in the water to try and break the ice was a picnic table.   

“One time Maya stopped thrashing around and I thought she was going to go under,” recalled Mrs. Rousseau, who decided then to go into the water herself to help the animals.  

 “I got in about halfway and felt the cold and said I had to get out.”  

 It was shortly after that the fire department arrived and quickly got into the water to rescue the dogs.   

Mrs. Rousseau estimates the dogs were in the water for about 40 minutes.   

“When we arrived there were several bystanders that had thrown some debris in the water to try and rescue the dogs, but the dogs were too far out and they were through the ice, they were stuck,” said Kevin Wilton, acting fire captain.  

After making their way down to the water, the firefighters deployed an inflatable rescue vessel to retrieve the dogs.   

Throughout the rescue operation, the dogs’ owners kept yelling to their pets to stay calm, hoping their voices would reassure the dogs that everything would be OK.   

“They were relatively close to shore so it was a fairly easy rescue. We just pulled the dogs in, one on the boat and the other went on his own,” said the fire captain.  

A loud cheer from the crowd that had gathered to watch the rescue erupted when Quinton, the yellow lab, was able to paddle his way to shore.   

Mrs. Rousseau quickly grabbed both dogs, yelling “come here babies,” and breaking into tears as she hugged both.

“I just want to thank everyone who helped us. I’m 52 and I have heard these stories (about people falling through the ice) but never thought it would happen to me. I’m so grateful for the fire department and all the help everyone gave us,” she said. “I just can’t stop crying when I think about it.”

Capt. Wilton is warning other dog owners and parents to keep not only their pets, but their children away from ice.   

“At this time of year all the ice is unsafe, so stay away,” he said.   

An Oshawa fire official said the family will not be charged for the cost of the rescue.  

 Just an hour after the rescue, Mrs. Rousseau said Maya is running around but the yellow lab Quinton is very quiet.