Dog rescued after falling through ice
Published: March 14, 2007
An area dog owner stood helplessly along the shore of Sloan’s Lake as her black dog struggled to stay afloat in icy-cold water.
“I said, ‘Pearl, stop, come back,’ and she didn’t stop, she kept going and went into the ice,” said Wanda Padilla, the dog’s owner.
As Sky9 hovered above, the dog continued to try and pull itself out of the water and onto the ice with no success.
“It was terrible because she was in the ice and she was thrashing around and I kept telling her, ‘Come on, come on,’ and she’d thrash around and try to get out and she couldn’t get out,” said Padilla.
Padilla says she initially tried to get Pearl, but worried about falling in herself.
“I went out about 25 feet on the ice and I could hear it crack, crack, cracking and I started back,” she said.
Not long after, the Denver Fire Department responded with their dive team. One member quickly entered the water wearing protective gear and swam through the chunks of ice to the dog.
The rescue worker soon reached the dog and brought him to shore.
“We found her dog about 50 feet out in a hole, hanging onto the ice shelf in front of him. He was just kind of waiting,” said Tony Padilla, with the Denver Fire Department’s water rescue team. He is not related to Wanda Padilla.
“She was so wet and cold and shivering and so glad to be back,” said Padilla.
Video of the dog shows him wagging his tail, happy to be reunited with Padilla who put a leash back on the dog before giving the dive team member a hug.
“I’m very thankful. The Denver Fire Department, they are the good guys, they knew what to do,” she said.
To see the entire rescue, watch the video listed to the left.
The rescue team says no one should go out on the ice right now because it is too warm out. They say Wanda Padilla did the right thing by turning back and calling for help.
The firefighters say they respond to about 70 water rescues a year, so they are always ready.
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