Dear Editor:
The lady with the dark-coloured young Lab really didn't have to disappear so quickly after her dog knocked Betty O'Keefe down, breaking her leg. Nobody thought of suing her or even saying an unkind word to the animal. After all, it was the Ambleside dog walk, one of the rare and valued off-leash areas on the North Shore.
Betty has walked dogs there for years, currently Mel(ody) and before that Ronan.
Thanks are very much due to a lady who did come to help on Jan. 5. We didn't get her full name or address, but she is, I believe, Paula, who has a strong English accent. She phoned for the ambulance, answered the 9-1-1 questions, and stayed until it arrived. She also phoned her office saying she would be late getting in, I think it was a school.
The ambulance people were very fast, efficient and pleasant before taking Betty off to Lions Gate for an operation on a double break and six weeks in a wheelchair.
While the walk is open to all, I might suggest that those of a certain age, or those the least unsteady on their feet, might think of walking elsewhere, most of the Seawalk being off-limits to unleashed dogs. In the unleashed area the dogs are doing what they like best, walking, running and bounding, having a great time with malice towards none - but in their excitement not always looking where they are going.
Ian Macdonald, North Vancouver
