The owner of a poodle who drowned after chasing a bird onto Prospect Park’s iced over lake, is asking city officials what would have happened if her poodle had been a human child. On January 2nd, Viviane Arzoumanian’s 5-year-old poodle drowned after running on to the ice, off leash (which is not allowed at the park unless it's during the designated off-leash hours, and never allowed at the lake). Following the tragedy, Arzoumanian—admitting she was breaking park rules—has some ideas for the park that she believes could result in more effective animal rescues.
She says the rescue team that arrived didn't have the proper equipment to go safely out onto the icy lake; while there were ladders, she says there were "no ropes, no life preserves, no floatation devices. If there were some sort of inflatable raft, anybody could go out there safely." So now she's asking the Parks Department to put boxes around the lake that contain self-inflating rafts and more suitable rescue equipment. (Perhaps they should also include a complaint box!)
We've contacted the Prospect Park folk to see if this is something they'd consider, and will update if we hear back.
