A dog in Medina is lucky to be alive thanks to the quick thinking and heroic actions of two Medina police officers.
The cries for help from a dog in distress filled the frigid air Thursday morning in Medina.
A caller alerted police to the scene just before 8 a.m. The air temperature outside was about 12 degrees, and the desperate dog struggled to escape the icy pond water.
The two responding officers were Officers Chris Brink and James Terwilliger.
Their body-worn cameras captured the heart-stopping moments as they sprang into action.
It was a race against time as the officers took just three-and-a-half minutes to put together a plan and retrieve and use a combination of rescue rope and a catch pole to bring the frightened and freezing four-legged friend to safety.
They then helped calm and comfort the scared pup while Medina firefighters helped warm him up. Police say the Medina Veterinary Clinic made sure he was OK.
It was certainly a rough start to the day for this little guy, but he was able to go home and was happily reunited with his family—thanks to the dog-gone good work of these two officers.
While the officers say they don't know how long the dog had been in the water, they have figured out how he got there.
"We've put it together in reverse order," said Terwilliger. "The dog we had with us was the dog earlier reported missing. So, the community comes together on its own on these Facebook pages that are shared amongst the neighborhoods, and we use those as a resource too."
Medina Police commended all involved and reminded people to closely monitor their pets during winter.
The officers say they'd recently undergone ice-rescue training with the Medina Fire Department.
As emergency responders and dads, the officers had a reminder for not just pet owners but also parents about this potential danger.
"People need to talk with their kids and be aware that the ice is not always what you think it might be," said Brink. "It may not be thick enough to walk on in all spots and just in general for people to avoid going out on the ice for any reason."
And get this: while the dog rescue was their first call of the day, it wasn't their only animal rescue.
Brink also helped rescue a horse that had slipped and fallen on the ice in Lafayette Township. He said there was a large response from agencies there and that the call, too, ended well, with the horse doing OK.
"It was a unique day," Officer Brink said with a smile.
