Man who rushed into boiling hot spring to save his dog suffered one of the worst deaths imaginable
Ben Thompson
Featured Image Credit: Find A Grave/ Colin D. Young / Alamy Stock Photo
Most dog owners would do anything for their pet pooch - but one unfortunate man paid a heavy price when he rushed to rescue a dog.
David Alan Kirwan and Ronald Ratliff were travelling through Yellowstone Park in 1981 with Ratliff's dog, Moosie.
At about 1pm on July 20th, Moosie got away from the pair and dived into a hot spring.
Moosie had made a terrible mistake - as the Celestine Spring that he had dived into was known to get as hot as 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius).
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With Moosie yelping in pain, Kirwan and Ratliff rushed to the terrified dog's aid.
Despite pleas from other park visitors, Kirwan dived into the boiling hot water to retrieve his friend's dog.
Swimming out to the dog, Kirwan attempted to lift them out but was unable to do so. He disappeared under the water as he let go of Moosie, before returning to the surface and attempting to escape the pool.
When Ratliff pulled his friend from the water, they discovered that he had received second degree burns on his feet.
Witnesses reportedly heard Kirwan mutter: "That was stupid. How bad am I? That was a stupid thing I did."
Kirwan had been blinded by the experience, and that wasn't the worst of it.
When somebody tried to remove his shoes, his skin came off with it.
He had received third degree burns across the entirety of his body, including his head.
Kirwan would die the following morning at Salt Lake City hospital. Moosie also didn't survive.
The hot springs in Yellowstone are extremely dangerous - some of them getting as hot as 205 degrees Fahrenheit (96 degrees celsius).
Since 1870, twenty two scalding deaths have been reported in the park's hot springs.
Kirwan's death is notable in that he voluntarily got into the water - most other deaths were the result of an accidental fall.
Another man managed to avoid a similar fate to Kirwan in 2001 when he went in after his dog - the 39 year old man was lucky to survive despite his second degree burns.
In 2014, another man avoided death when he dived in after his dog in Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
One particularly gruesome fatality occurred in 2016 when a man from Portland, Oregon fell into a hot spring in Yellowstone.
Due to the acidity and heat of the water, his remains could not be found.