Man's Love of Pets Cost Him His Life

His love of animals and the plight of a friend's dog cost David Kirwan his life.

The 24-year-old La Canada Flintridge man last week plunged into a boiling thermal pool in Wyoming's Yellowstone Park in an attempt to save the life of the dog, which had jumped into Fountain Paint Pots near the Old Faithful Geyser. The dog, a mixed-breed boxer named Lucy (AKA Moosie), died almost instantly.

Kirwan's friend pulled him out of the pool and he was rushed by ambulance to West Yellowstone Airport in Montana, then flown to the Intermountain Burn Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he died the next day from second and third-degree burns over his entire body.

"He liked dogs and when the dog went in, his friend told him not to go in (after her), but David went in," said James Kirwan, David's father.

Kirwan, one of five children of James and Colleen Kirwan, liked camping and outdoor activities, his father said. He was on the return leg of a camping trip that had taken him to Northern California and Canada when the accident occurred.

"That's the way life is," his father said. "He had a really happy life. He liked to travel and he got the chance."

Kirwan, a student at Pasadena City College, also did construction work and managed apartment houses. The strapping six-footer was once athlete of the year at La Canada High School, where he ran track and played basketball and football. He lived at home with his family, which owns three dogs.

"David was always the one who ended up taking care of the dogs," his mother said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

- Lost Angeles Times
July 26, 1981

Kirwan, David Alan

Graveside services Monday, 12 noon in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills. Crippon Mortuary, directing.

- Los Angeles Times
July 26, 1981

Man's Love of Pets Cost Him His Life

His love of animals and the plight of a friend's dog cost David Kirwan his life.

The 24-year-old La Canada Flintridge man last week plunged into a boiling thermal pool in Wyoming's Yellowstone Park in an attempt to save the life of the dog, which had jumped into Fountain Paint Pots near the Old Faithful Geyser. The dog, a mixed-breed boxer named Lucy (AKA Moosie), died almost instantly.

Kirwan's friend pulled him out of the pool and he was rushed by ambulance to West Yellowstone Airport in Montana, then flown to the Intermountain Burn Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he died the next day from second and third-degree burns over his entire body.

"He liked dogs and when the dog went in, his friend told him not to go in (after her), but David went in," said James Kirwan, David's father.

Kirwan, one of five children of James and Colleen Kirwan, liked camping and outdoor activities, his father said. He was on the return leg of a camping trip that had taken him to Northern California and Canada when the accident occurred.

"That's the way life is," his father said. "He had a really happy life. He liked to travel and he got the chance."

Kirwan, a student at Pasadena City College, also did construction work and managed apartment houses. The strapping six-footer was once athlete of the year at La Canada High School, where he ran track and played basketball and football. He lived at home with his family, which owns three dogs.

"David was always the one who ended up taking care of the dogs," his mother said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

- Lost Angeles Times
July 26, 1981

Kirwan, David Alan

Graveside services Monday, 12 noon in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills. Crippon Mortuary, directing.

- Los Angeles Times
July 26, 1981