This is how you rescue a dog who is trapped in a frozen river

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/01/17/this-is-how-you-rescue-a-dog-w.html

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Good boy!

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Dog! Dog! Dog! Dog!

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Black labs are waterproof. Their fur creates an oil that prevents the water from reaching their skin. So even though this dog was in the ice cold water, he probably didn’t even feel it. My black lab goes swimming in ice cold water every winter - it’s just how they were designed to do what they were bred to do, which is retrieve stuff.

That said, this dog would likely not been able to get itself out. It’s an old dog (see the white beard), thus not as strong as he used to be, and eventually would have succumbed to the cold.

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I could understand the risk if it was a cat, but dogs are supposed to like the water, right? Can’t just leave it in there until spring?

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I have rescued a dog from a frozen pond… I was way less smart about it, but dogs are very good about expressing gratitude. :slight_smile:

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This wasn’t you, was it? :wink:

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Look at those people with their skills, and proper equipment and heroism and stuff.

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That’ll give me god’mares .

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Dog’s getting a 4-hand toweling off. Dogs hate that.

He’ll be back in the river by dusk. Good Boy!

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“Ooh, ya silly billy!” :smiley:

I do like stories with happy endings.

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Nope. Not a chance.

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Same, with bold emphasis mine! Was back from university and walking around the local lake when the family lab decided to run out on the ice to chase geese, then cap things off with a “swan dive” into the unfrozen middle. I sprawled out as in the video and luckily neither of us drowned… Though the 'rents wanted to kill me afterward!

Much like the video, once my lab was back on solid ice, you would’ve been hard pressed to know she nearly died, other than a few scratches on her forearms. Meanwhile she wagged her tail as I stripped down and ran home through the neighborhood like a maniac! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I also rescued my pupper from a hole in the ice. I did belly slide out there and since this was a small bit of water with a hole dug in there on purpose (so water birds can do their water birding I guess) I did not fall through! The dog did need a bit of warming up after that though!

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Apparently it works for alligators.

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Ha! Was thinking exactly the same thing!

I admire that rescuer’s dogged determination.

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I liked how as soon as he was out of the water he just moseyed on over to the shore like “bye lady! hope you have fun on the ice!”

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HOORAY!! I should always start my day with good news like this!

Yikes! Proof that Russians are ultra-cold resistant under many conditions.