Owners 'overjoyed' after fire crews rescue dog who fell into icy pond

DENVER (KDVR) -- A dog is home safe and warm Thursday after she fell through the ice of a pond and was rescued by fire crews in Fort Collins.

Tikka, a 4-year-old mixed breed, was outside with her owners when she chased after some geese and ended up in the icy pond. Her owners did what Poudre Fire Authority said was the right thing and called 911 rather than following the dog into the water.

Crews responded to the area near 2700 E. Prospect Rd. with water search and rescue equipment ready. It was a "plan for the worst, hope for the best" scenario, Public Information Officer Annie Bierbower said in a phone call interview with FOX31.

"We deployed one swimmer in a dry suit who was able to reach the dog, and the dog was actually swimming through this frigid water. There's chunks of ice everywhere and she's swimming, swimming, but since it's so slippery and I'm sure she's so cold, she couldn't actually lift herself onto the ice to rescue herself," Bierbower said.

The swimmer was an Engine 6 firefighter who is specially trained in ice rescue. She was in a yellow dry suit, which Bierbower said allows rescuers to enter the water and stay reasonably warm and dry when rescuing an animal or person from cold water.

Bierbower said that when the firefighter got to the shelf of the ice, she reached out and Tikka cooperated and pushed up as the responder pulled her out of the water to safety.

"Tikka was pretty happy to be out," Bierbower said.

PFA's partners at UC Health responded, gave Tikka a nice place to dry off and warm up in the ambulance and took care of her. Once she was all warmed up, her owners took her home where she could stay warm.

Bierbower said her owners were "just overjoyed that she was okay."

'A pretty common scenario:' How crews rescue people and pets from icy water

Bierbower said that PFA crews respond to rescue people and pets from icy water every winter and that dogs ending up in icy water after chasing geese is a "pretty common scenario."

She added that it's something firefighters and rescuers train for every year. PFA rescued another dog from an icy pond earlier this week and was set to have its annual ice rescue training on Friday.

The agency shared a photo from a previous ice rescue training:

What to do if this happens to you

When people or pets fall into icy water, Bierbower said people often go in after them in an attempt to help and end up getting stuck too. So, crews come prepared for multiple rescues.

In the case Thursday morning, the owners called 911 for help. Bierbower said that was the best thing they could have done as PFA has the ice rescue equipment and special training to rescue the dog safely.

"We will be there as quickly as possible. We will have the gear and the skills needed to go in there and save them. It's much better for them to go in after one dog than, you know, one dog and two people," Bierbower said.

There are a few ways that people can prevent and prepare for an emergency like this. Bierbower said rescuers encourage pet owners to keep their pets on a leash, especially this time of the year.

"This scenario happens time and time again where an animal, that's maybe not even common to chase things, chases after some sort of duck or geese and that's how they end up in the water," she said.

She emphasized that it's important for people to be cautious around icy water and encourages people to do research before trying to step on ice.

"Ice in our world is never truly safe, it's such a variable thing," Bierbower said. "Especially in our neck of the woods, It's freezing and thawing, and freezing and thawing, and just the likelihood of that being stable enough for anything to go on to especially this early in the freezing season, that's pretty hard to be able to predict."

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has a video with ice safety guidelines that anyone can watch on YouTube.