Occurred on November 7, 2017 / Bozeman, Montana, USA
Info from Licensor: "My husband was walking 3 dogs around our neighborhood pond on a cold and snowy morning and it was only -5 degrees. One of the Dogs, Finn the Golden Retriever, decided he wanted to take a break and roll around in the snow. Then, Finn decided he wasn't going anywhere and refused to move, so my husband let him off his leash and kept walking the other two dogs, expecting Finn to catch up when he was ready. My husband got to the other side of the pond and looked back for Finn only to see him taking a 'short cut' across the partially frozen pond. As Finn was walking across the icy pond, he fell right through the center. My husband called me in a panic as one dog ran home on her own and said 'I've got a huge problem! Finn just fell through the ice on the pond!' I ran outside in my pajamas and saw that Finn was way too far out for us to rescue on our own and immediately called 911. In the meantime, my husband was trying to throw a rope out to the dog and fell through the ice up to his knees. Meanwhile, Finn was just hanging out whimpering, only his head and two front paws visible. When the fire department finally arrived, my husband ran home to try to remove his boots which were frozen to his feet. The fire department reacted super quickly. One firefighter was dressed in a dry suit with a rope attached and immediately crawled out onto the ice with the other firefighters ready to pull him in. The firefighter fell through the ice as he neared the dog, but was able to finally reach Finn and lift him onto the ice. Finn walked off the ice and ran back to our house. We warmed him up by the fire by rotating blankets in and out of the dryer. Finn had been in the water for over 30 minutes in 5-degree temperatures. We are happy to report that Finn recovered and went to the fire department later that day to thank the firefighters who rescued him!"
