David Alan Kirwan was 24 years old when he saw his friend’s dog fall into Celestine Pool.
It was July 20, 1981, in Yellowstone. The water in that thermal spring was around 93°C, nearly at boiling point. Witnesses shouted at him not to get close. He replied “like hell I won’t” —something like “of course I’m going in”— and dove headfirst after the animal, named Moosie.
He reached the dog, but the boiling water overcame him almost immediately. With his friend’s help, he managed to crawl out, although he already had catastrophic burns over almost his entire body. Witnesses reported that his skin began to peel away while he, still conscious, asked: “How bad am I?”. He was airlifted to a hospital in Salt Lake City, where he died the next day. Moosie did not survive either. Four decades later, his case remains one of the most documented incidents in the park’s history.
