Sono Tranquillo is reminiscing about how loving of a dog her chocolate lab Kumi was. On Saturday, Sono and her family were spending a family camping trip at Topaz Lake, when something went wrong.
"We could hear the kids screaming and we all go running out and gone, my dog was gone," says Tranquillo.
Kumi went running into the lake chasing after birds in the water. She was then quickly swept under the surface by a whirlpool created by a Walker River Irrigation District drain.The drain is releasing water from Topaz Lake into the Walker River because of high water levels.
"Didn't know if it was hazardous, it didn't look like it, it was just kind of slow moving and small initially," says Tranquillo.
Sono says the whirlpool would change in size based on the currents in the lake, and that there was no clear indicator of danger in the area.
"You could see the two buoys on the side that said no boats so I just assumed that meant shallow water, they'll scrape bottom," says Tranquillo.
Scott Morgan with Douglas County says lake-goers should always stay aware of whirlpools like these.
"We advise safety at all levels when people are near water and particularly on county property," says Morgan.
He says in his 25 years with the county, an incident like this has never taken place. However, as a result of this incident, further warnings have been put into place.
"At the request of the irrigation district, we did put out some additional signage," says Morgan. "Just to warn beach-goers that there is a potential danger there."
Sono says since losing her family dog, a lot of attention has been on the fact that her dog wasn't on a leash. While that is against county rules, her hope is people will instead focus on future safety, especially if her story can save the life of a dog or even a person who's attending Topaz Lake.
"Permanent structure, permanent signs clearly placed saying, this is a hazard to people and pets and fix it, I want them to fix it," says Tranquillo.
Douglas County has released a statement after a whirlpool claimed the life of a dog this weekend at Topaz Lake.
It says -
On Monday, April 3, 2017 we were notified of an unfortunate situation where a dog’s life was tragically taken by a drain in Topaz Lake.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident and the loss of the dog. We immediately reached out to the owner of the animal to find out what happened and express condolences. The Walker River Irrigation District, managing authority of this Lake, is putting out additional signage to warn people to stay clear of the area. We have never had an incident related to the drain in the past. Dogs are not allowed on the property without a leash for their safety and the safety of others. We will continue to monitor the drain and work with Walker River Irrigation District,” said Melissa Blosser, Public Information Office for Douglas County.
Douglas County manages the parks portion of Topaz Lake. The lake and water system is managed by Walker River Irrigation District.
(Douglas County contributed to this report.)
