A freezing pond and a sudden shift to freezing temps created a dangerous place for a dog to be. Bob, a black Labrador retriever, had been walking with his family when he stepped on the pond and slipped through the ice. Panicked, the family attempted to call him out of the water, but an ice shelf hampered him from escaping.

Utah firefighter Logan Hadley was at work when the family’s 911 call came in about Bob. He immediately started getting ready to leave. Hadley and a crew of eight rushed over to the pond. Bob was barking and clearly panicked and the family kept encouraging him to hold on.

We’ve trained for a call like this, but I’d never had to do it before,” Hadley said.

“This was my first time for an actual water rescue, and I could tell this family was really scared and worried about getting their dog out,” he said.  North Davis Fire District Chief Mark Becraft said Bob had tried to stay afloat by paddling, but quickly tired because of the cold water and began resting his paws on the edge of the ice shelf. He said hypothermia can set in quickly, and Bob had already been in the pond for 10 minutes.

Logan Hadley crawls toward the edge of the icy pond to rescue Bob, a black Labrador retriever. Photo by Mark Becraft

“I was relieved that the dog’s owner hadn’t jumped in after him because then we would have had a real nightmare,” Becraft said. After attaching a rescue line to Hadley’s water suit, he quickly got into the water.  Bob, who was clearly afraid and stressed out, began growling at his rescuer. “Bob, be good!” Bob’s owner called to him. “Be nice — he’s going to help!” one of the children shouted.

When Hadley grabbed the slippery dog from behind, Bob tried to bite him. Hadley’s face got nipped in a couple of places as the owner shouted “No, Bob, no!” But Hadley said he understood the dog’s fear. “His fight-or-flight instinct set in and he didn’t want his back to me,” Hadley said.

After the rescue crew pulled Hadley and Bob out of the water, the dog shook off the water and ran to be hugged by his family. Photo by Mark Becraft

Holding the squirming Bob, Hadley was pulled out of the water with the dog by his crew. The clearly grumpy, but relieved dog, shook off the water and ran straight toward his happy family. “It felt good to see that reunion and know the dog was going to be alright,” he said. Hadley escaped with only tiny injuries. “I’ve got a little mark on my forehead and one on the bridge of my nose — it’s not bad at all,” he said.

It felt good to see that reunion and know the dog was going to be alright,” he said.

Hadley said the woman and her children came by and left chocolates and a thank-you note for the firefighters. Becraft, who took a video of the rescue, posted it on the North Davis Fire District Facebook page, as a cautionary tale for pet owners.

“Bob the dog loves the water but the ice shelf prevented him from being able to get out after his polar plunge,” the Facebook post read. “Please be safe with your pets and children as ice conditions are still not as safe as we’d like them to be.” Watch the amazing rescue below.

Sources: KFOR | Washington Post