'The community has our back': Coquitlam rescue team flooded with donations after finding dog walker
Coquitlam Search and Rescue manager Michael Coyle says team has been overwhelmed with support
One of the volunteer search teams that found a dog walker who went missing for three days in Coquitlam, B.C., has been flooded with donations and messages of thanks.
"We've been kind of overwhelmed with the support we've received from the community over the past few days," said Michael Coyle with Coquitlam Search and Rescue.
"The community has our back. They know we're there."
Coyle said there has been a recent spike of donations from Coquitlam residents and dog walkers, many of them sent along with notes thanking them for rescuing Annette Poitras and the three dogs she was with.
Coquitlam SAR was one of 19 search and rescue teams that responded when Poitras and the dogs went missing. Volunteers, 89 in all, came from as far as Cranbrook and Vancouver Island.
Poitras and the dogs had set off on Monday for a two-hour walk in the woods, but she slipped on a log as they made their way out, injuring her side so seriously she couldn't walk any farther.
She and the dogs were rescued by long line three days later. She is still recovering in hospital.
Tight-knit community
Coyle said most of the rescues his organization performs are completed within six hours, and often at night. He thinks the sustained effort of this search, combined with extensive media coverage, played a hand in getting people's attention.
But he also thinks many of the donations came because of the tight-knit nature of the dog-walking community, which he counts himself as a part of.
"I have a dog, I know when I walk everybody knows my dog's name," he said. "They see me all the time."
Coyle said the donations will go towards training, vehicles and equipment — the province pays for helicopter time.
He pointed out that the team's new command centre, which opened a year ago Monday, was paid for by donations like the ones it received in the past few days.
Part of the reason it took so long to find Poitras, Coyle said, was that she hadn't told anyone where she was going that day.
"It can take several days for us to figure out where someone even started their hike and that really makes a big difference," he said.
Coyle also emphasized that everyone, including dog walkers, should carry supplies like extra food and water and a cellphone.
"Certainly nobody starts the day walking their dog thinking I'm going to spend the next two nights cuddling with my dog for warmth," he said.