St. Bernard gets in icy trouble, but dog pal alerts humans

In this case, a dog's best friend was another dog.

A St. Bernard named Guinness and a Golden Retriever named Bo who live with their owner in Framingham, Mass., normally spend most of their day in their home's yard. But after seeing a squirrel, they naturally gave chase.

But the yard they guard sits right on the Sudbury River, which had a thin coat of ice stretching to the bank. Thanks to snow piling to the top of the backyard fence, Guinness and Bo were able to pursue the squirrel onto the frozen river, but that's when the trouble started.

As the two dogs were on their way back home, Guinness fell through the ice, but his canine companion Bo didn't leave his side. Instead, he stayed on the ice, barking for help.

"Bo was dedicated. He would not leave his side out there," owner Valerie Jewell told CBS Boston.

Soon the family sent out a call for help and Framingham firemen came to the rescue. In all, Guinness stayed in the water for 20 minutes. But responders were able to get him out, and he was rushed to a veterinarian to warm him up from his ordeal in the frigid water.

"Bo waited by his side - grateful for that. He was worried when they took Guinness away," said Jewell.

Framingham fire officials said that a danger is presented when an animal becomes submerged.

"With a dog in the water, if we don't show up, it means usually a human will go get it," said Framingham Fire Department Lt. Joe McCarthy.