LIBERTY, Maine — Two dogs are now safe after they were stranded Friday morning in the waters of St. George Lake in Liberty, Maine.
One of the dogs named Pickles reportedly fell through the ice into the water, WMTW reported.
Fire crews were able to get Pickles out of the water and were eventually able to get him warmed up, the news outlet reported.
The other dog named Whimsey was stuck on the ice. Crews were able to rescue Whimsey before they had a chance to fall into the ice, WMTW reported.
“We are so extremely proud of our Department and Montville Fire for the handling of this call. Between using water rescue suits, the water rescue live slide, rope, and knowledge we were able to get Pickles out of the water and our Ambulance Team was able to warm him up and make sure he was okay. After that we were able to eventually rescue Whimsy,” Liberty Fire and Rescue said in a Facebook post.
Both dogs had collars on so crews were able to contact the owners. It turned out that the dogs had been missing since Thursday, WMTW reported. The lake where they were found Friday was about three miles from their house.
“If they’re not tagged, make sure they have the microchips so we can reunite the dog with you,” said Liberty Fire & Rescue Chief, William Gillespie, according to WABI. “But, obviously, dogs need to be secured at all times. It’s a situation that risks a lot of people’s lives to go out there and do this. It’s not that it was unnecessary, it was for a dog, and we want to make sure we reunite the dog but it is dangerous to go out there on the ice this time of year.”
Gillespie said both of the dogs appeared to be very hungry but overall were OK. They are back home safe.