SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It was a dramatic scene as the Shawano Fire and Police Departments rescued a dog from icy waters.
It was a happy ending for that dog and his owner.
Officials say the puppy escaped a fence at its home and fell through the ice earlier Friday afternoon.
A good strong doggy paddle shouldn’t be underestimated…that was proven in Friday’s ice rescue. You can see in the video, the puppy was trying with all of its might to get out of this scary situation on its own, but started to struggle.
“The dog went under multiple times and, as I was walking up, the dog did go under two more times,” Capt. William Mott Jr. of the Shawano Area Fire Department said.
Mott is a volunteer firefighter for the department. He was called out to rescue the dog Friday afternoon.
Mott says the dog had fallen through the ice on the channel between the Wolf River and Shawano Lake, and was in the freezing water for about 10 to 15 minutes before he arrived.
“You know the ice is going to be kind of bad, so you get down and you crawl and,” Mott explained. “I was hoping to be able to get the dog without going through, but it didn’t happen that way.”
But Mott was ultimately able to rescue the animal and bring him to safety.
“With an animal, you don’t know how they’re going to react, so we’re not really sure what to expect,” he said. “All we can do is hope for the best.”
The reaction of both the dog and his owner was one of relief.
“We don’t ever hope to be able to do it, it’s just one of those things that we practice for and train for and, when the time comes, if we need to use it, we get to utilize it and, you know, with a good ending,” Mott said.
