Crown Point Firefighters Rescue Dog From Icy Pond
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Authorities in Crown Point braved freezing temps to rescue a dog stuck in a frozen pond.
Mark Baumgardner, Jr. with Crown Point Fire Rescue Department says a call came in after 8:30 a.m. to Lake County 911.
The caller reported that a dog was in open water, unable to get back on the ice and was going under.
It happened in a small retention pond in a subdivision.
The Crown Point Fire Department arrived minutes later to rescue the dog.
In the Facebook video, the dog can be heard yelping as firefighter Keith Boersma was roped up and wearing a dry suit, crawled out on the ice along the edge of a circle of open water caused by an aeration system.
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"I rolled on my back and once I was in the water, I started swimming towards the dog," says Boersma. "The dog actually looked like it was ready to be brought out of there. It came right to me. It was a very good feeling. Obviously I don't want to see animals in trouble like that. I think everyone is pretty happy about it."
Crown Point Fire Rescue says the dog was taken to Oak Hill Animal Clinic. The owner had been out looking for the dog. They were reunited at the Oak Hill Animal Clinic.
The canine is named Chiquita.
The dog and her owner later visited the firefighters to thank them.
As a retired epileptic service dog, she used to smell changes in her owner's blood right before a seizure.
Chiquita and her owner brought firefighters pizza as a thank you gift.
