Hero dog pulls owner to safety after falling through ice on famous lake

20 January 2024 , 16:11

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A hero dog pulled its owner to safety after he became stuck in a dangerous position when he fell through ice on Lake Michigan.

A man who fell through the ice on a frozen Michigan lake was rescued after a quick-thinking state police officer used the stranded man’s dog to get rescue equipment to him and pull the man to safety.

The 65-year-old Traverse City man was stuck, powerless in the ice of Arbutus Lake, with his dog Ruby standing loyally at his side as bystanders called emergency services for help.

Michigan State police officer, Kammeron Bennetts, came to the rescue, and captured the ordeal on his body camera. The 65-year-old’s head and shoulders are initially the only things that can be seen above the ice.

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MSP Motor Carrier Officer Kammeron Bennetts came to the rescue (mspnorthernmi/X)

After failing to throw the rescue disc and rope to the man, Kammeron asked the dog owner to send his dog his way, the man told the officer his dog’s name is Ruby and Kammeron thought quickly on his feet calling the dog over to him.

Kammeron said: “Send your pup here. Will she come to me? Ruby, come here! Come here, Ruby!”. The officer whistled for the dog who bounded over tail wagging, Kammeron then tied the rescue disc to Ruby who then ran back to her owner when she called him with the rescue equipment.

The victim’s dog Ruby formed part of the rescue mission (mspnorthernmi/X)

With the rope attached to Ruby’s collar, Kammeron told the 65-year-old to grab onto it and start kicking his legs. He said: “Bring your feet up to the surface by kicking your feet!”

As the dog owner kicked his legs and freed himself from the ice, Kammeron and a local firefighter were able to grab his arms, Ruby still attached to the rope and pull the pair to safety.

State police said the man was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment and later released. The agency posted on X congratulating the dog. The post said: “What a good girl!!! Amazing ice rescue. Creative thinking helped save a life!!”

As the dog owner kicked his legs and freed himself from the ice (mspnorthernmi/X)

The post adds: “Great team work and well done!”

It comes after in 2015 Two teenagers had a on a tiny piece of ice in freezing cold temperatures. The boys, aged 17 and 18, from Wisconsin, got caught on Lake Michigan after the floating chunk of ice began to give way.

In the video clip, the teenagers can be seen balancing on the thin piece of snow approximately 40 yards from shore. Emergency service teams from the Racine Fire Department were called and rescue divers jumped in the freezing lake to pull the block of ice back to land.

Battalion Chief Willie Hargrove told TMJ 4 News: "Hopefully the learned a lesson. Not the smartest thing to put yourself in that position."

Chief Hargrove explained that the two boys were able to walk to safety after divers had pulled their block of ice into shallow waters. Thankfully, despite being a little cold, the teenagers managed to escape without injury.