As oppressive heat bore down on Montreal on Thursday, a dog found a woman who had passed out in a wooded area, possibly saving her life.
“I don’t want to take the credit, because it’s my dog who did everything,” prefaces Mario Trottier, a smile in his voice. Thursday noon, the retired firefighter was walking with his goldendoodle Archie, in the gardens of Douglas Hospital, in Verdun. The 6-year-old dog was walking without a leash when he and his owner ventured into the wooded area bordering the property.
“He was walking quietly next to me, and suddenly he took off running, as if he had felt something,” says Mario Trottier. The retired firefighter then went after his dog, who started barking from the depths of the woods.
It was only when he approached his dog that Mario Trottier saw a woman lying on the ground, through the branches. “I heard the lady let out a little cry. I think she had passed out, but the dog’s barking woke her up,” he guesses.
The former first responder attempted to assess the condition of the woman, who he estimated to be in her fifties. “She was very confused, she really had symptoms of what we call heat stroke,” he says. Mario Trottier then called 911 and left his dog with the woman to go get help, who took care of her.
In Montreal, it is forbidden to walk your dog without a leash unless you are in a dog park, a rule that Mario Trottier says he understands well. “Archie often walks without a leash when we go to the countryside. In the city I’m careful, but when we’re isolated I take advantage of it,” he emphasizes.
According to the ex-firefighter, letting Archie off the leash may have saved a life. “If he had been on a leash, we would never have taken that path, and there are not many people who go that way,” he adds, describing this rescue operation as a “coup.” luck “.
Mario Trottier was unable to know the identity of the woman he found, “but if it hadn’t been Archie, it’s certain that she would have been in even more difficulty”, assures the one who does not hide his pride, in front of the exploit of his dog. “Today is definitely his day,” he says.
