Police officers in Southlake, Texas, are being praised for helping save a dog that fell into a partially frozen pond on Sunday.
The pond is located near White Chapel Church, and the Southlake Department of Public Safety (DPS) said when its officers arrived they found a black lab named Shadow clinging to a thin sheet of ice, Fox 4 reported.
“Our original plan was to wait for Southlake Fire to arrive with their ladder to rescue him, but precious moments began slipping by, and the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” the department explained.
A six-minute video of the rescue posted on Facebook showed the officers and the dog’s owner, Scott, calling to him as he whined and tried paddling to shore:
GREAT RESCUE! This is a long 6-minute video, but we couldn’t find parts to cut out. We wanted to make sure you all see the harshness of these conditions and the severity of this rescue. Hear the wind. Hear the determination. Watch the conditions. Be advised, that Shadow’s yelps are initially a little tough and sad to hear, but we wanted you to see this start to finish. On Valentine’s Day at around 2:38pm, we received a 911 call that a dog had fallen through a thin layer of ice of a pond at the White Chapel Church. Officers and firefighters raced to the pond, with officers arriving in a mere 7 minutes from the time the call was made. When officers got there, they saw Shadow, a medium sized black lab, struggling to cling to a sheet of ice with his body submerged. Our original plan was to wait for Southlake Fire to arrive with their ladder to rescue him, but precious moments began slipping by, and the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Officers and Shadow’s owner (Scott) called to him and he started paddling his way towards shore. He broke up a little ice trying to swim closer, but then got stuck. At this point, you can see Sergeant Music already taking off his duty belt and tightening his coat as Shadow cried and yelped for help. Sergeant Music used a catch pole to break up the ice while Scott ran home to get a pool float. Sergeant Music slowly trudged down into the pond into shoulder height water as Scott returned with the float. Together they were able hoist Shadow onto the float and have officers on shore pull Sergeant Music and the pool float back in with a rope. The bravery, courage, and teamwork between the entire police shift, Scott, and firefighters is to be commended. Please watch your pets over the next few days, as many of them have never seen ponds and pools freeze over. They’re fast and curious! We’ve seen a number of pet rescues on Facebook lately, so please please please keep a vigilant eye on your beloved family members! Scott sent us pix (in the comments) of Shadow resting at home in perfect health.
Posted by Southlake DPS on Wednesday, February 17, 2021
“Come on Shadow. That’s it! Come on!” one of the officers told the stranded pup. Shadow tried to swim closer to them but eventually got stuck again.
Moments later, Sgt. Music removed his duty belt and used a catchpole to break up the ice while Scott went home to retrieve a pool float and another officer got a rope.
Music had submerged himself shoulder-deep in the frigid pond on his way to the dog when Scott returned with the watermelon shaped float.
“This will float … I think this is a better idea,” Scott told the officers as he laid down on it and pushed himself onto the ice.
The two eventually grabbed hold of Shadow and the other officers pulled them to shore with the rope.
The department tweeted photos Wednesday of the pup resting safe and sound at home:
Scott sent us pix of Shadow resting at home in perfect health. Good boy.
/END pic.twitter.com/1XVTGnTcQP
— Southlake DPS (@SouthlakeDPS) February 17, 2021
Facebook users later praised those involved for saving the trapped dog.
“Wow! To go chest-deep in that water with no drysuit! Give that guy a raise. The float guy too,” one person wrote.
“Thank you for the brave officer that jumped into the ice to save the dog. Thank you, thank you,” another commented.
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