Public Can’t Decide Whether to Praise or Ridicule Runner Who Jumped in Lake to Save Dog That Turned Out to Be Stump
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A local runner dived into a freezing lake Sunday to save a dog stuck in the ice, only to discover that the dog was actually a stump, Dumb Runner has learned—and people hearing his story aren’t sure whether to applaud the man’s good intentions or to mock him mercilessly.
“On one hand,” said Walter Kurtz, a witness who was walking his dog at the time, “this kid had the best intentions and acted totally selflessly. That’s a rare thing these days”
“On the other hand,” he said, “that thing is clearly a stump. It’s been there as long as I can remember.”
“I mean, come on.”
The attempted rescue and subsequent embarrassment occurred around 10 a.m. when the runner, Bill Kilgore, 31, noticed a dark shape in Duvall Lake, about 30 feet from the shore. The shape, Kilgore told Dumb Runner in an interview, “sure looked like a dog to me.”
Kilgore leapt into the icy water without hesitation.
“I didn’t think,” he said. “I just acted.”
Bystanders on the popular lakefront path quickly gathered to watch, their gasps turning to stifled laughter as they realized that Kilgore was trying to save a tree stump. It was a realization that Kilgore himself arrived at only after some time.
Eventually Kilgore emerged from the water, soaking wet and shivering in the freezing temperatures. He was treated at a local hospital for mild hypothermia and released.
A hospital spokeswoman said Kilgore “deserves kudos for his actions, which came from a good place,” but added that she and other staffers shared “a hearty laugh” after his discharge.
“I mean, come on,” she said.
