Helped rescue a dog today

[mustang84]

I was walking to class at 9:50 this morning when this little pug dog with a collar ran by me. On my right side was the Memorial Union building, and on the left across the street was a slope down to Lake LaVerne. The lake was mostly ice covered, but there were sections where the ice had melted. I kept walking but had a bad feeling in my gut because once the dog disappeared beyond the crest of the hill, I didn't see him pop out again further up by the sidewalk. I backtracked across the street and saw a little object splashing in the water about 10 feet from the shore. It was the little dog.

So I start hurrying over there to the shore. I get out my phone to try to call ISU Public Safety, but the sunlight was so bright that I couldn't read the number in my contacts. About a minute later, an older gentleman shows up and says he saw the dog from the road and called 911, and they transfered him to the ISU Police. He said they were sending someone over.

So we stand around for about three minutes, this poor little dog hanging onto the edge of the ice with two paws, trying as hard as he can to get up onto it. No one had showed up yet, and another guy stopped so we got some rocks from the shore and attempted to break the ice so the dog could swim closer to us. The ice was too thick to break.

After five minutes, an ROTC guy shows up and another girl shows up. The girl runs to the Memorial Union bookstore to see if they have any rope and the ROTC guy and me take off our coats thinking that maybe we can go out onto the edge of the ice and try to pull the dog up. By this time the dog was starting to hyperventilate and had stopped pawing at the ice. He was literally hanging on for his life. We were starting to get agitated because the police hadn't showed up yet and we figured they'd forgotten about us.

The ROTC guy and me start walking toward the shore when a voice from behind us yells not to go out onto the lake. Behind us were two firefighters and two police officers. The two firefighters crawl out onto the ice and each one grabs a paw and slowly pulls the dog out of the water. Surprisingly, the dog still had enough strength to walk normally back to the shore where they dried him off with a towel.

I have never felt so helpless in my life before. If that dog had gone under before the firefighters had gotten there, I would have felt awful. I'm glad that little dog got a second chance at life today.

[trinacriabob]

Very, very cool. I'd probably help a cat, too, but a dog needs no second thought.

While driving down the street, I ran into 2 lab puppies abandoned on a building lot in a ritzy subdivision in a resort community in So. America over Thanksgiving week. It was toward the beginning of the vacation and my mind was "in scan mode" as to what I should do and whether I should have rearranged my vacation a little to bring them back to the U.S. They were so cute. I sat down on the ground and they were all over me, yelping and licking.

I did get a neighboring girl to take them, so I don't feel so bad. I don't know what happened to them. I never will. Those could have been my dogs.

I am sure others on this site have rescued animals in distress. It's a very noble thing to do.

[ocnblu]

Aww... Mustang, dammit. I'm glad the pup got some help.

[mrmonte]

Good for you man . I 'm a dog lover too ! I would have done the same,great story. I've got a yellow Lab .

[z28luvr01]

Good for you Mustang. These four-leggers need us, and we owe it to them to give them whatever we need, given how much they give us in return.

[Robert Hall]

A good deed indeed. I'm a softie with dogs, I donate to no-kill shelters, terrier rescue organizations, the ASPCA, the humane society...I've done volunteer work at a local shelter a couple of times. My sister also is pretty active locally in Phoenix and nationally in the terrier rescue organizations..she's adopted a couple of dogs through them.

My g/f and I adopted '10 pounds of terror' a couple of years ago--Nauti P, a retired Australian Terrier national show winner.

[razoredge]

Wow, hyperthermia is an overwhelming effect to those who have felt it. Glad you helped the lil doggie out. I had my lead dog go through the thin ice at an inlet to a frozen lake high in the Adirondac wilderness.... at night. Amazingly he and the rest of the team did not panic, I was able to follow the gang line up and pull him out, he shook off and went on his way

4 leggers rule !

[trinacriabob]

Just tossing this out.

What's in a dog's make up that allows them to trust a human almost instantly...even from when they are pups?

I, mean, we could really be mean to them or even cause them harm (though that would only be the sickest of people), yet they come right to you.

Do you ever wonder about that?

[Enzora]

Just tossing this out.

What's in a dog's make up that allows them to trust a human almost instantly...even from when they are pups?

I, mean, we could really be mean to them or even cause them harm (though that would only be the sickest of people), yet they come right to you.

Do you ever wonder about that?

Stupidity.

I know domestic cats use less of their brain than wild ones. I suspect it's probably a similar situation for dogs.

[BuickEight]

Just tossing this out.

What's in a dog's make up that allows them to trust a human almost instantly...even from when they are pups?

I, mean, we could really be mean to them or even cause them harm (though that would only be the sickest of people), yet they come right to you.

Do you ever wonder about that?

Probably because man and dog have been dependent on each other since the caveman days. Dogs can also sense "bad people". And anybody who suggests that dogs are stupid, are simply ignorant and stupid themselves.

[razoredge]

Of Wolves and Men according to his Edgyness

Canis Lupus is the second most socialized, organized, intelegent species walking the earth, for the sea look to the Dolphin the other highly socialized mammal that interacts with human. Monkeys (some would argue, and rightfully so) I guess Im in the wrong hemisphere to know much about them but also socialized, organized, intelegent and interacts with humans.

Lupus always watching, always observing, always game for some fun, or excitement, playful, political, rules and laws, mates for life, looks out for its own, strong in principles..........sound fimiliar ? Its no wonder this highly observant, thrill seeking and hungry carnivorous species drew close to man on his hunts and around his camps. Little by little the special few from generation to generation became Canis Lupus Familiaris and has walked the earth side by side with the two leggers their ancesters found so intriging.

My times with my little lupus packs have been amounst my best times. We have spent many hours over the years observing their interactions and governing of their little "town". Alot of character there let me tell you, even today as they age, they still think their young and full of it and full of themselfs.

real dog lovers and outdoorsy types or even armchair adventurers should take the time to rent and watch "Never cry wolf", it will become very clear, the relationship between man and dog.

[ocnblu]

I sorely miss being able to come home after a long day at work and destress by holding and taking care of my little Meggie. There is a definite difference.

[mightymouse]

Good job Mustang dude. I saved one this summer from the Detroit humane society...I thought it was a little sick Dingo...She had double barrel phnuemonia?

-how the hell do you spell that- She is a really smart healthy pup now, I'm sure she'd have been a goner otherwise.

[trinacriabob]

I sorely miss being able to come home after a long day at work and destress by holding and taking care of my little Meggie.  There is a definite difference.

Get another one.