Alberta man, dog survive after being stuck in abandoned septic tank

An Okotoks, Alta., couple and their dogs were caught up in a dangerous situation while on a walk last week.

On April 16, Greg Saulnier and Emily Rawson were out walking in an area behind their home when one of their dogs, named Buck, fell through a hole in a field leading to an abandoned septic tank.

"My dog was in the pond out in the forest and I turned around to look for my other dog and it was completely missing," Rawson said.

Rawson and Saulnier began looking in all the storm drains and other places where a dog could get trapped and soon found it had fallen into a hole in the ground.

"He was barking really loudly – screaming almost," Rawson said.

"I almost stepped in the hole myself, I'm pretty sure."

The pair first tried to get the dog out by trying to reach in, but it was too far.

Without another thought, Saulnier jumped into the hole himself.

"I noticed that his head was kind of bobbing up and down in the water and I realized his swimming was starting to slow," he said.

The tank wasn't full of human waste, only rain water, but he still knew he was in deep trouble.

"It was pitch black in there," Saulnier said. "The water was chilling on my body and I was feeling weaker and just kind of in shock."

Rawson said she started having a panic attack when the whole thing happened, but that didn't stop her from trying to help.

"I was so scared," she said. "I ran up a huge hill to my house in two minutes and back with a rope while I was having a panic attack.

"It was crazy."

Saulnier was eventually able to get Buck out himself, picking up the dog and pushing it back up out of the hole in the tank.

However, Saulnier was still trapped.

"When you can see the hole and how to get out, but you don't have the strength to actually get yourself out, it's kind of a terrifying feeling," he said.

Rawson says eventually she and her dad were able to get him out enough so Saulnier's head and chest were out of the tank, but they couldn't get him out any further.

"The hole was so tiny," she said. "The best bet, because he started to slip, was to wait for help."

Using the rope she'd retrieved, Rawson and her dad tied it around him to hold him there until first responders arrived to complete the rescue.

The pair say they're surprised that a hazard like an abandoned septic tank went unnoticed for so long.

"This is a very popular park for people to be walking around," Rawson said. "We never had any idea that this was there."

Saulnier says the tank is not marked at all.

"There was no signage, fences, gates or anything. It was just open land."

Rawson's dog Buck was the first one who fell into the tank and her boyfriend Greg jumped in soon after to save the pooch.

Rawson is thankful for the efforts of all the first responders who came to the scene.

"They were amazing," she said. "We were really happy with how it went. They made sure everyone was okay."

The open hole for the tank is now marked, but Rawson says there are other risks in other areas.

"We did find out there is another one that is bigger and it is unmarked," she said.

"It's just on the other side of the road."

CTV News has reached out to the Okotoks Fire Department for additional details on this story.

The Town of Okotoks said on Thursday that it has asked the property owner to put up signs along their land and to close and seal the hole.