Man who rescues his dog almost drowns at Pigeon River Middle Falls

A Thunder Bay family was on an outing at Middle Falls on Pigeon River midday on Monday, June 5, when their Alaskan malamute “Mouse” jumped into the river and was being pulled towards the 20-foot falls.

When Dillyan Dubray, 21, saw his dog struggling, he wasted little time hurtling himself into the river. He swam to the dog and pushed Mouse towards shore. The dog made it safely to the riverbank, but Dillyan was swept over the falls. He said he was being pushed down the river when his foot got stuck in some rocks and he was trapped for a while, but he eventually swam to the American side where he collapsed on the bank. The river is very wide in this area.

When Dillyan’s friend, Kevin Marks, Thunder Bay, didn’t see any movement from Dillyan he jumped into the river and swam across to assist him.

Canadian Ontario Provincial Police were called, Canadian first responders, Cook County Law Enforcement, Pigeon River Provincial Park personal and United States Customs and Border Protection assisted.

The rescue took about two hours and Dillyan was transported to the Thunder Bay hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion and chipped bone in his right foot, otherwise he is okay. He told a local Thunder Bay TV station that he felt lucky to be alive.