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‘KEEN WAS UNIVERSALLY LOVED’
West Van man dies trying to save his dog from creek NICK LABA
nlaba@nsnews.com
In their final moments on Earth, Keen Lau and his dog Loki acted as two kindred spirits desperately trying to save one another.
In a tragic accident on Friday, both drowned in Cypress Creek. By his loved ones, Lau is remembered as a constant source of positivity who always put others first. West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager has also paid tribute, with an open letter describing Lau as a “dear friend” whose contributions to the community were many. On Friday evening, Lau and his wife Lisa Park were walking their Labrador retriever in West Vancouver’s Cypress Falls Park. They had frequented the area, located near where they lived in Caulfeild. After Loki became muddy near the playground area, Lau walked him down to a shallow spot by the tennis courts, Park said. Ever playful, Loki tried to grab a stick one second, and the next was swept away down the creek. “We were shocked,” she said. “Keen screamed, ‘Loki!’” As the couple rushed to search for the dog, Park said she found him first, downstream, because Lau had to hike up from where he and Loki were before. “I found Loki and I tried to pull him out,” she said. “But I couldn’t – it was too hard.”
West Vancouver’s Keen Lau is seen here with his dog, Loki. Lau died Friday trying to rescue Loki from the rushing waters of Cypress Creek. COURTESY OF LISA PARK Park said they were in a whirlpool area. Later, a police officer told her how dangerous this can be, because the water appears calm on the surface but the pull is very strong below.
“Then Keen came down and in not even one second, he jumped in to save Loki,” Park said, adding that Lau did everything he could to save the dog, pushing on its rear from the water.
Still remaining calm in his voice, Lau began to realize that he couldn’t get Loki out of the water, Park said. “And then Keen was like, ‘Lisa, I need your help,’ so he grabbed my wrist. I tried to pull him up, but I couldn’t – I wish I was stronger,” she said. Immediately she called 911, and first responders arrived within minutes. Members of West Vancouver Fire and Rescue and North Shore Rescue worked to find Lau and Loki into the evening, but the search was called off around midnight because it was getting too dark. Park, along with Lau’s mother and brother, went back to the creek at first light on Saturday. They followed the creek about 50 metres down from where Lau went into the water. First, they found Loki, and then Lau soon after. Just before 6 a.m., Park called 911 again and crews returned and recovered the bodies. “I was waiting in the parking lot,” Park said. “I never thought that would be my last time to see him – like that. His body was so cold. I hugged him, I kissed him, I asked him to wake up. I shook him and I rubbed my cheeks on his cheek. I asked him to wake up. I thought he was just cold, but he didn’t wake up.” As Lau had tried to save Loki, Park learned that Loki had tried to do the same Continued on page 26
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