Pointe Claire resident saves dog from tree branch fall due to storm

By Kevin Woodhouse

It seems to be a pattern in Montreal and the West Island as the last two Wednesdays have produced rain storms associated with high enough winds that can cause damage to properties and last week was no exception. For one Pointe Claire resident and his dog, last Wednesday night was a bit of a close call but thankfully, no one was hurt.

Twenty-eight-year-old Adam Rich, who lives on Hillside in Pointe Claire, had just opened a beer to enjoy after a long day. Rich had settled in to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs at 8 p.m. when the rain started outside. His Labrador Retriever, Maddy, had to go outside to use the facilities and because Rich’s pet had recently been diagnosed with cancer, she needed a little help going down the few stairs in the front porch.

Rich opened the front door and as he prepared to take Maddy into the yard, that is when he heard a massive sounding crack. “It happened so fast that I didn’t really have time to react, I just grabbed Maddy and we bolted to safety,” the affable Rich told The Suburban.

The crack came from a large branch from an old growth tree on the Rich’s front property. One of the three large branches gave way in last Wednesday’s storm, exactly at the time when Rich and Maddy were outside.

Had the young man and his dog not reacted, they would have taken a hit from the large branch that took a decent piece out of the Rich’s roof.

Ginette Brisebois, spokesperson for the city of Pointe Claire, told The Suburban that approximately “50 calls came in and three quarters of them were related to the wind. Approximately 35 requests were than made to the Horticulture Division for broken trees and dangerous branches to be removed.”

Rene Heroux of Environment Canada noted that last Wednesday’s thunderstorm, “there was not too much heavy rain to cause damage but there were severe winds from 80 to 90 km/h throughout Montreal and the West Island.”

Rich, who likes to travel in his spare time, was not overly spooked by the event and was happy that he and Maddy were unharmed. “I didn’t get a chance to finish my beer though, it just sat on the counter,” said Rich from his yard where workers were in the process of getting rid of the large offending branch and repairing the roof.