Just a few days ago, Los Angeles firefighters heroically rescued a Shiba Inu who was being swept away in the L.A. River. (The pup, who they named “Lucky,” has not yet been claimed by his owner.)
Halfway across the country today, the U.S. Coast Guard came to the rescue of a yellow Labrador Retriever who found herself in a similar predicament. But instead of falling into raging water, the Lab fell through ice into frigid Betsie Lake in Frankfort, Mich.
The dog has been named “Betsie” after the lake she fell into, but she really should be named “Extra Lucky.” She just happened to fall close to a U.S. Coast Guard station. When crew members witnessed it, they rushed to her rescue.
Tim Putnam, a boatswain mate third class, swam out about 200 feet to grab the Lab.
“I had to push a lot of the ice out of the way. It was pretty exhausting,” he told NBC News. As he approached Betsie, she swam toward him.
“It was almost like he knew it was his last chance,” said Putnam, who initially mistook Betsie for a male. “Luckily we got him out in time. It didn’t look like he had too much left in him.”
Betsie was taken to the Benzie County Animal Shelter in Beulah, Mich. She had no ID tags or microchip, so shelter staff are trying to locate her owners.
If no one claims Betsie, Putnam wants to adopt her himself. “Maybe it was just meant to be,” he told NBC News. (Okay, she really needs to be named Extra Extra Lucky.)
Over on the East Coast, yet another dog was saved today by firefighters. The dog, named Lucy, was walking with her family along the frozen Mystic River in Arlington, Mass., when she saw a swan and bolted onto the ice.
The ice broke, and Lucy fell into the icy water. Firefighters put on “warm suits” and were able to successfully save Lucy about 30 feet from the shore, according to WCVB. The dog was checked by a veterinarian and has been reunited with her family.
Maybe they should start calling her Lucky Lucy. Just sayin’.
Photo via YouTube