Dog days

[dor]

We've just come down the Hurleston Flight.

 

We were waiting in the top lock, with a boat in the second lock down rising in the lock. While the lock was filling, they let their Alsatian go for a swim in the pound. No comment. I turned round to check on our boat and heard a yelp. Looked round and the dog was no longer swimming in the pound.

 

From the commotion by the lock is was evident that the dog had disappeared down the paddle sluice. The boaters dropped the paddle, but then Linda the Lockkeeper ran down to the lock and opened the paddle again.

 

Fortunately the boat was only about 50ft, so was reversed up the lock. Somewhat miraculously, the dog then apparently surfaced.

 

I really thought we were going to see a dead dog dragged out of the lock, but remarkably it seemed to be unharmed by the experience. Linda reckoned it was under for about three minutes, so either there is an air-pocket in the paddle chamber or it was good at holding its breath.

 

The boat eventually exited the lock with a very wet and rather subdued dog in the front.

 

Only a couple of hours earlier we had seen a woman letting her two young kids swin in the canal immediately above Swanley lock - what if the above experience had happened to a child?

[Bernie]

Where there are people you will always have idiots.

[Mimi]

Unfortunatly too true Bernie. It never ceases to amaze me how stupid some folk can be. She would be the first in the papers talking about 'dangerous canals' etc if something was to happen to one of her precious ones.