Bath firefighter rescues dog trapped in marsh near dog park

A Bath firefighter waded into cold, chest-deep water to pull a dog out of the marsh near South End Park after the animal slipped past the end of the fence along Washington Street and became stuck in mud and water.

Bath Fire and Rescue said crews were called to the scene after the dog wandered beyond the park boundary and could not get free. Firefighter Hinds reached the animal in the marsh and brought it safely back to shore, a rescue the department later singled out as an example of going beyond the call of duty for a pet and its owner.

The rescue unfolded in the South End Park and South End Dog Park area, a familiar stretch of waterfront for Bath residents around 347 to 399 Washington Street. The city describes the space as a multi-purpose park where dogs may be off leash but must remain in voice command. BringFido describes the dog park as an 11-acre site along the Kennebec River with open-lawn and river-adjacent access, and notes that part of the river edge is not fenced, leaving a gap that can create a hazard for dogs that roam too far.

That danger is not new. Local reporting from late December 2022 and early January 2023 described another dog rescue at the same south end park, when people helped pull a dog from the marsh at the water’s edge. Officials said dogs are naturally drawn toward the marsh, which makes the risk especially easy to underestimate when the shoreline looks close and reachable from the park.

Bath Fire and Rescue says its mission includes protecting lives and property, preserving environmental resources and assisting local agencies when needed. In this case, that duty extended to an animal emergency that doubled as a warning for anyone who uses the Washington Street park: keep dogs close, watch the fence line carefully and treat the marsh as dangerous, even on a routine visit.