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news
the_river_ouse_in_york_licensed_cc_by_2.0_by_tim_green_on_flickr.jpgCyclists urged to dispose of inner tubes safely after dog drowns in River Ouse in York
A York woman has appealed to cyclists to dispose of old inner tubes properly after one of her dogs drowned when it became tangled up in one while swimming in the River Ouse last week.
Sandra Guilfoyle was at the river in Clifton with her three dogs when she noticed that one of them, Jimmy, whom she said was a strong swimmer, had got into difficulty in the water, reports the York Press.
She told the newspaper: “He was going down. I left the other two, took off my jacket and threw myself in and swam over to him. I was pulling him and he was just going down.
“There was something black round his head and mouth, and his tongue was hanging out. I couldn’t figure out what it was. I thought it was a belt, black and thin. He was a massive dog, but I managed to drag and carry him to the beach and shouted for help.”
Despite her efforts to save him, the dog, whom she had found abandoned outside a shop in Tottenham, north London in winter 2010, did not survive his ordeal.
“I was trying to press his chest but didn’t know what to do. He just died in my arms. He was still breathing and his eyes were moving, and then he was just gone,” she said.
“I was just beyond myself I was shouting ‘not my Jimmy’. A woman came down and tried to help and suddenly people were just there I have a vague memory of that.”
It turned out that the object he had become entangled in was a discarded inner tube for a mountain bike tyre, and Ms Guilfoyle is urging cyclists to dispose of their used tubes responsibly.
“It’s the butterfly effect, everything you do has consequences,” she said. “Somebody’s utter disregard for humans ended up causing so much pain and suffering.
“Yesterday when we got there there were teenagers splashing in the water and it could easily happen to them.
“I suppose some things never reach a certain level of society. I at least want the dog walkers to be aware, as we see a lot down there. I would hate to read something like this happen to someone else.”
Speaking of Jimmy, she said: “He deserved better. He had a good life, but a terrible end. He was king of the house but he gave us pleasure of knowing him and being around him.
“Jimmy was just one of those dogs that just clicks with you. He had a bad start, a great middle, and a tragic ending, thanks to some idiot.”
She added: “I just want to highlight it and maybe it will make somebody think twice before they throw a shopping trolley or bike or something.
"I have no doubt next time it could be a child.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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20 comments
In other news: some people are dicks.
The more tabloid "DOG IN RUBBER OUSE SHOCK"
A dog owner near me has fashioned a hundred-metre dog lead exclusively from discarded inner tubes and walks little Pickles right next to the cycle lane.
Grab the dog and run with it until the inner tubes get really stretched, then let the dog go and see what happens.
Oh, dear. The cultural war on cycling led by the Daily Mail, the Sun, the London Evening Standard and the BBC shows no sign of getting old, anytime soon.
I rarely bin an inner tube, normally they get stashed and over time cut up & repurposed for something...
The government needs to bring in a tubeless law. Jimmy's law.
Sorry road.cc but this was a definite clickbait. When passive voice is used in the article title, only to find out that a crazy lady has actually told this stuff, then it is clear clickbait.
I disagree. The title seems informative and accurate.
Clickbait would be: "You won't believe what this dog found in the river".
"This woman took her dog for a walk by the river - you won't believe what happened next"
"Won't someone think of the children!"
I can't imagine the pain of having my beloved dog die in my arms knowing the cause was someone else's laziness and negligence, but there is clearly a wider issue of people littering and fly tipping that needs addressing, rather than a specific issue of cyclists not disposing of inner tubes correctly. That said, there has been a discarded inner tube on my cycle to work that I have been observing as a mini social experiment that has been there for well over 18 months... these things don't just go away.
There was a broken bike chain on my commute last summer - took about six weeks before it disappeared. Don't know if someone just chucked it in the river... Mind you, at least a bike chain won't float.
Out of respect for the departed, I shall not be asking the obvious question here.
"I have no doubt next time it could be a child.”
Definitely needs to be stopped if people are throwing kids in.
Not sure I'd be letting my kids go swimming in the River Ouse. And if they did happen to be in the water, they'd have more ot worry about than stray tubes.
FFS. One of the posts on her facebook thanked her for 'highlighting the issue'. Yeah cyclists throwing inner tubes in rivers is an 'issue' now? Bloody cyclists.
I was going to just throw mine in the bin next to my garage but I'll probably take them down the river and chuck them in there now.
LOL, she even got a tattoo of the dog on her arm! Nutter.
Probably not the right time to point out that there is a pile of unclaimed dog shit sitting somewhere, waiting for this butterfly.
We all need to stop accumulating so much shit, then just chucking it away.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-40354561
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/38063952/the-animals-that-are-bein...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44215881
Who would just dump an inner tube anyway??