In an attempt to save her dog, a woman from Washington has jumped into a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park on Monday, resulting in her second and third-degree burns.
The 20-year-old woman was sent to the hospital due to the incident, according to park officials.
The statement said the woman “suffered significant thermal burn from her shoulders to [her] feet” after she submerged into the up to 200-degree Fahrenheit heat of the Maiden’s Gave Spring waters. Unfortunately, her dog was not saved.
The woman was identified as Laiha Slayton, according to a GoFundMe campaign created to fund the treatment costs.
The fundraising said the accident was “horrific”, adding that the woman was in the park with her father and her Shih Tzu, Rusty. Kamilla, the victim’s sister, has set up the campaign and narrated that the dog was surprised and jumped into the water.
Laiha was pulled out by his father out of the hot water. “She’s incredibly lucky. Dad saved her life,” her sister said.
The victim was brought to the Eastern Idaho Medical Center Regional Medical Center and is not recovering from the incident. She sustained “burns on 91% of her body,” according to an update on the GoFundMe page on Wednesday. She will be placed in a medically-made coma for a couple of weeks before her surgery.
“My sister’s palms are completely gone,” her sister said. She said Laiha had been submerged for about eight second in the hot water. “She is stable and healing slowly and at a good rate. This won’t be a fast process by any means.”
After the incident, park officials told visitors to “keep pets under control” while it said investigation on the incident is ongoing, SFGATE reported.
As of Sunday morning, GoFundMe has already collected $54,000.
