Bump in donations for Coquitlam SAR after dog walker rescue

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – A local search and rescue team has seen a spike in donations and messages of support since a dog walker was found alive in Coquitlam last week.

Annette Poitras and her three dogs were found alive on Wednesday, after a harrowing search in bad weather.

Team Manager Michael Coyle says the money is just one aspect, adding that people have been going out of their way to thank them — which has been overwhelming for an already close-knit team.

“It was very heartening, seeing my team work together so smoothly and then to get this kind of response from the public is even more so that, yes, they have our back. People are really taking the time to show their thanks and the kind of support from the community is very heartwarming.”

This story received a lot of attention, and he thinks that’s the case simply because people can relate. “This is the kind of incident that could happen to anybody. They might see a hiker or a mountaineer or a skier as someone who’s not like them. But she was just walking her dogs.”

Read more: Coquitlam dog walker in good spirits after surviving two nights in the woods

Coyle clarifies that when a SAR team is called out, expenses like using a helicopter are covered by the provincial government. But crews rely heavily on donations to stay operational.

“The SAR Command truck we were using [last week,] we put that into service one year ago on Monday when the search started. And it was the community that, with these kinds of donations, went into the truck. It was their support that built the truck. It’s their support is what lets us do these kinds of rescues.”

He adds they’ve had 50 rescues so far this year — which is a new record. The previous record was 45, which was set several years ago.

Coyle says this latest rescue, which albeit had a happy ending, is yet another reminder to tell someone where you’re going if you plan on venturing out.

“We actually went through her social media feed to get a sense of where she’d gone in the past and that’s something we do now with everybody. We try to figure out if their feed is public, so we can get some clues from that.”

Coyle adds having the right equipment, some snacks and being prepared for the conditions can make all the difference.

“Letting someone know where you’re going… that would have shortened our task and made it a lot easier. We’ve seen that on the North Shore, with tourists coming to Vancouver and they go for a hike and they don’t tell anybody where they’re going. It can be a number of days before they’re even reported missing. Right now, we’re harping on this one thing: Leave a trip plan.”

Annette Poitras’ husband, Marcel, spoke to NEWS 1130 last week, saying the family can’t thank rescuers enough, and urged people to support their efforts.

“The people who are volunteering their time — walking away from their jobs to pay their mortgage — to help people in need, they deserve the support. These are extremely talented, dedicated, hard-working… there are so many words. They’re passionate about what they do, they’re compassionate about how they do it. They deserve everything they can get and we need to support [them]. Those people who don’t think that will happen to them — It just might,” says Marcel.

If you would like to donate to Coquitlam SAR, you can do so online.