Thousands of Dollars Raised for Woman Burned Jumping in Yellowstone Hot Spring to Save Dog

A woman who was badly burned while trying to rescue her dog from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park was inundated with donations to help cover her recovery costs.

Laiha Slayton, 20, was visiting the park with her father Woodrow on Tuesday when the incident occurred near Fountain Flat Drive south of Madison Junction.

While getting out of the car with her two Shih Tzu pups, Rusty and Chevy, one of the dogs, Rusty, ran into Maiden’s Grave Spring near the Firehole River. According to the National Park Service, the temperature of Maiden’s Grave Spring is 200F.

Laiha jumped into the boiling water to save the dog. She was then rescued by her father and taken to West Yellowstone, Montana, where she received first aid from park rangers and the Hebgen Basin Rural Fire District.

Laiha was then transported to the Burn Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for further treatment.

According to an update her sister Kamilla Slayton posted on GoFundMe, Laiha suffered second-degree burns on approximately 70% of her body and third-degree burns in 20%.

She has been put into a medically induced coma and is expected to stay in the hospital for two to three weeks, and her hospital recovery will continue for several months.

Rusty unfortunately died as a result of his injuries.

On the fundraising page, Kamilla described the extent of some of the injuries her sibling had suffered: “My sister’s palms are completely gone and require surgery, and possibly the rest of her body as well,” she wrote.

According to the post, her father Woodrow suffered burns on his foot.

The GoFundMe page was set up by Kamilla to help cover medical expenses and veterinary bills incurred as a result of the accident. The funds will also cover the cost of Laiha’s parents’ stay out of state while their daughter is recovering.

At the time of writing, an additional $ 25,875 has been raised toward the original target of $ 45,000. Since setting up the site, Kamilla has also provided an update on her sister’s condition.

In a statement posted on Instagram under the name Kamijoslayton, she said Laiha was “stable and healing slowly and at a good pace” and that she had undergone two surgeries since she was admitted.

However, she warned that Laiha was in serious condition at this point because she was “most susceptible to infection at the moment.”

Kamilla said Leiha will be undergoing debridement over the next two weeks, which is a process of removing dead skin and promoting healthy skin growth.

She added that the fact that her sister has no other health problems “works very well” and that the burns suffered “appear to be better than they originally thought,” with doctors appearing to be “mostly” second rather than third Degree identified.

“That means our father pulled them out incredibly quickly,” she wrote. “She’s incredibly lucky. Dad saved her life … She was in the hot water for about 8 seconds.”

Newsweek has asked Kamilla for a comment.

Following the incident, the NPS issued a warning urging visitors to exercise caution, especially when visiting Yellowstone National Park with a pet.

“The soil in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is boiling water just below the surface,” they said. “Everyone must stay on promenades and paths and exercise extreme caution with thermal features.”

“Pets can’t be more than six feet tall in a car, crate or on a leash,” they added. “They are not allowed on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the hinterland or in thermal areas.”

The incident is the second of its kind to be reported in the national park this year.

On September 16, a 19-year-old Rhode Island woman suffered second and third degree burns to 5 percent of her body after falling in thermal water near the cone of a geyser called Old Faithful.

Geyser Hill in Yellowstone National Park – A 20-year-old woman suffered burns to 90 percent of her body after jumping into a geyser in the park to rescue her dog.
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