‘Clever’ rescuers pull dog from icy pond using its collar and a handy tool in Oregon

A dog wandered onto a frozen pond and plunged through the ice — but rescuers had a clever way to help.

The dog was stuck in the icy pond Monday, Jan. 10, and couldn’t get out, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon said. Rescuers headed to the area to help the dog.

“They quickly developed a safe and clever plan to rescue the large dog without entering the icy water,” the sheriff’s office said in a Jan. 12 Facebook post. “The strategy involved a volunteer firefighter using a small pond boat and a Leatherman tool to maneuver across the iced-over pond.”

The dog was about 40 yards from the shoreline, rescuers said. The firefighters used the small boat to reach the dog, which was initially hesitant toward the stranger.

First responders still on land were “fearful that time was running out,” the sheriff’s office said. The dog, however, warmed up to the firefighter and was pulled into the boat.

“Once it discovered help had arrived, enough trust was built for the volunteer firefighter to successfully hook the dog’s neck collar and pull it from the icy water to safety,” officials said.

The sheriff’s office did not say if the dog was injured but said the rescue had a “positive outcome.”

This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 7:52 AM with the headline "‘Clever’ rescuers pull dog from icy pond using its collar and a handy tool in Oregon."