Widow of West Vancouver man who drowned trying to save dog describes desperate struggle in the water
From the moment Keen Lau met his neighbour's dog Loki, the two were inseparable.
“Keen actually offered, 'I go hiking every day, so I can take Loki for a walk.' And that was about three and a half years ago” said his widow Lisa Park.
Loki’s constant companionship helped Lau and Park get through the pain of two miscarriages.
“We didn’t think that Loki is a dog, it’s a son. Our son. So we actually took Loki everywhere,” she said.
On May 19, Lau and Park were walking Loki on a trail near Cypress Creek in West Vancouver when the golden labrador was swept away in the water. Park ran downstream and found Loki struggling to get out of the creek.
“I tried to actually pull Loki out first, but it was too hard,” Park said. “I gave him a stick and said, 'Loki, you have to try. And we have to work together. Please, try your best. ' And I remember his eyes. He was staring and me and I was staring at him. And I tried my best, but he couldn’t because the rock was slippery.”
It was then Lau jumped in the creek to try to hoist Loki out of the water.
“Keen was trying everything to push Loki out. But he couldn’t. And then later he got tired and he asked me, 'Lisa, I need your help,'" Park recalls. "So he came to me and he grabbed by wrist, and I tried to pull him up so hard, I remember that day. I was lying down on the rock and trying to pull him up so hard. But I couldn’t.”
Lau and Loki were both swept away. Darkness prevented a thorough search, so the following morning Park and other family members went looking for them.
“I kept calling, 'Keen, Loki, where are you? Please, where are you?'” said Park. “And then we found Loki’s body under the water, it wasn’t too far from where it happened.
Minutes later, Lau’s brother found the 45-year-old’s body.
“Of course I feel guilty that I couldn’t save him,” said Park, wiping away tears. But she knows she could never have stopped her husband from jumping in that creek.
“Keen would jump in the water for anyone or any dog. That’s Keen,” she said. “Keen, he’s really brave and he has huge compassion for animals and people.”
Keen Lau drowned trying to save beloved dog Loki after the pup was swept away in a West Vancouver creek. (Photo submitted by Lisa Park)
Lau ran for West Vancouver city council last fall, and was close friends with Mayor Mark Sager, who is spearheading a campaign to name a new outdoor fitness park at Ambleside Beach after Lau.
“Keen fitness park, this is perfect,” said Park. “It’s perfect to honour Keen, his name and legacy.”
His wife, who’s a teacher in Burnaby, will honour Lau’s legacy by continuing to champion causes he believed in.
“He was giving back to the community, he was doing a lot of things for the community. So I want to continue his work. I want to volunteer for the community,” she said.
But she knows the road ahead will be difficult without the man she married just a few months ago, and planned to spend the rest of her life with.
“I just miss him a lot of course,” said Park. “Every day he planted seeds of love in everyone’s heart.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Disability Benefit needs to safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.