Man who rushed into boiling hot spring to save friend's dog suffered one of the worst deaths imaginable

A hero lost his life after making the split-second decision to try and save a dog who was dying in a hot spring.

A lot of dog owners would move heaven and Earth to protect their pet.

However, one unfortunate incident saw a man die after an attempt to save his friend's dog.

In 1981 David Alan Kirwan and Ronald Ratliff were travelling through Yellowstone Park with Ratliff's dog, Moosie.

On July 20 of that year in the afternoon, Moosie made a terrible mistake and got away from his owner and dived into a hot spring pool at the National Park.

The Celestine Spring that he had dived into was known to get as hot as 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius).

With Moosie yelping in pain, Kirwan and Ratliff rushed to the terrified dog's aid.

Despite pleas from other park visitors, Kirwan jumped into the boiling hot water to retrieve his friend's dog.

Swimming out to the dog, Kirwan attempted to lift them out but was unable to do so. He disappeared under the water as he let go of Moosie, before returning to the surface and attempting to escape the pool.

via Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

When Ratliff pulled his friend from the water, they discovered he had received second degree burns on his feet.

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

Kirwan had been blinded by the experience, and that wasn't the worst of it.

When somebody tried to remove his shoes, his skin came off with it.

He had received third degree burns across the entirety of his body, including his head. Kirwan would die the following morning at Salt Lake City hospital. Moosie also didn't survive.

The hot springs in Yellowstone are extremely dangerous - some of them getting as hot as 205 degrees Fahrenheit (96 degrees celsius).

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Since 1870, 22 scalding deaths have been reported in the park's hot springs.

Kirwan's death is notable in that he voluntarily got into the water - most other deaths were the result of an accidental fall.

Another man managed to avoid a similar fate to Kirwan in 2001 when he went in after his dog - the 39 year old man was lucky to survive despite his second degree burns.

In 2014, another man avoided death when he dived in after his dog in Black Rock Desert in Nevada.

Topics: News, Animals

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.