Man Who Rushed Into Boiling Hot Spring To Save His Dog Suffered One Of The Worst Deaths Imaginable

Most dog owners would sacrifice anything for their beloved pets, but one unfortunate guy paid dearly for his hurried efforts to save a dog.

Ronald Ratliff's dog, Moosie, and David Alan Kirwan were traveling through Yellowstone Park in 1981.

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On July 20th, around 1 pm, Moosie escaped from the couple and jumped into a hot spring.

The Celestine Spring that Moosie had fallen into was known to reach temperatures of up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, so he had made a dreadful error (93 degrees Celsius).

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Kirwan and Ratliff rushed to help the terrified dog as it cried out in pain.

While other park users begged him not to, Kirwan dove into the scalding hot water to rescue his friend's dog.

Kirwan tried to lift them out of the dog by swimming out to it, but he was unable to do so. As he let go of Moosie, he dropped below the surface, then surfaced and tried to swim away from the pool.

Second-degree burns were found on his feet when Ratliff and his buddy pulled their friend from the water.

Witnesses reportedly heard Kirwan mutter: "That was stupid. How bad am I? That was a stupid thing I did."

The worst part of the experience wasn't even that Kirwan had become blind.

Someone attempted to take off his shoes, but his skin also came off with it.

His entire body, including his head, was covered in third-degree burns.

The following morning, Kirwan passed away in a hospital in Salt Lake City. Moosie died as well.

Yellowstone's hot springs are highly dangerous, with some of them reaching temperatures of 205 degrees Fahrenheit (96 degrees Celsius).

Twenty-two cases of scalding deaths in the park's hot springs have been documented since 1870.

Kirwan's death is noteworthy because, unlike most other fatalities, it was his choice to enter the water.

When a 39-year-old man went inside to look for his dog in 2001, he was fortunate to live despite suffering second-degree burns, as Kirwan did.

Another guy narrowly escaped death in 2014 when he dove into the Nevadan Black Rock Desert in search of his dog.

In 2016, a man from Portland, Oregon died in an especially horrifying accident when he fell into a hot spring in Yellowstone.

His bones were not discovered because of the acidity and heat of the water.