Hank, an 11-year-old Great Pyrenees (L), slipped into the water at Colliery Dam Park on New Year's Day, and needed some help from local nurse Kimberly Kidson (R) and his worried owner Patricia Madden (centre) to get back to dry land. (Submitted/Kathryn Babiski)

By Jordan Davidson

pooch polar plunge

‘Heroes:’ owner grateful as strangers help rescue dog from water at Nanaimo’s Colliery Dam Park

Jan 2, 2026 | 9:51 AM

NANAIMO — Bystanders quickly sprang into action after a large, older dog slipped into the water at Colliery Dam Park on New Year’s Day.

Around noon on Thursday, Jan. 1, Patricia Madden was walking her 11-year-old Great Pyrenees dog Hank around the park, exploring it for the first time after moving to the area only seven weeks ago.

Madden told NanaimoNewsNOW they were finishing up their walk and heading back to their vehicle when the 110-pound Hank decided to check out the water one last time, when he slipped off some steep rocks and fell a few feet into the water.

“He does like water, but he doesn’t like deep water, and so he slipped right off the rocks right into the water, started panicking right away, and he was going down, (and) I yelled for help.”

With plenty of people in the area enjoying the holiday, help wasn’t far.

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Kathryn Babiski was near the water with her husband when they saw Hank go in and heard Madden’s calls for help.

“She was in panic mode about her dog. She was right on the edge of the water on the rocks there, and there’s not much to hold on to,” said Babiski.

A look from the top of the rock face Hank slipped off, and tried in vain to climb back up. (Submitted)

Madden said she was getting ready to jump into the chilly waters when local nurse and fellow dog-walker Kimberly Kidson got in first.

Kidson was walking Chandler, her three-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, when she heard Madden’s call for help and sprang into action.

“I could see that the dog was elderly and becoming really exhausted,” said Kidson. “I kicked my boots off and I jumped in the water after the dog. The lady threw the leash at me, so I put the leash around the dogs head, and then I threw the leash back at a man… and he grabbed the leash and guided the head of the dog. As I swam and held the back end of the dog, and the dog at this point wasn’t even swimming with his back legs, he was very, very exhausted and was starting to go under.”

Madden had entered the water as well by then, along with Kidson’s dog Chandler, who helped supervise the entire operation.

The three of them were able to guide Hank back to the shore in a spot where he was able to climb out safely on his own.

With the temperature around four degrees, both women were soaked to the bone after spending around a minute in the water, but they were able to warm up in their vehicles and didn’t require medical attention.

“It was a crazy ordeal, but I’m really happy that I was able to help Paddy and her dog,” said Kidson. “If that happened to my dog, I would have hoped somebody would have helped me too. I’ve never done a polar bear swim, and it’s just so ironic that today is the day that everybody would be doing the polar bear swim, so I guess it’s my first whack at it.”

Once back in their vehicle, Madden and Hank drove to nearby Value Village on Fifth St., where staff helped her into some dry clothes.

By 2 p.m., they were warm again and heading home, feeling incredibly grateful for the help of Babiski, her husband, and Kidson, whom she calls “heroes”.

“If it wasn’t for those two ladies, I don’t know what would have happened,” said Madden.

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