Dog teams up with police officer to rescue owner from frozen lake
Grand Traverse County, Michigan - Bystanders on the shores of Arbutus Lake in Michigan called 911 on Thursday after seeing a man fall through the ice of the frozen lake. The victim's dog and a police officer then worked together to rescue him.
Officer Kammeron Bennetts' phone rang at around 11:45 AM on Thursday.
The officer learned that a 65-year-old man was in distress, per Michigan State Police's statement. The man had fallen through the ice in a frozen lake.
Once at the scene, Officer Bennetts quickly realized that he couldn't reach the helpless man without putting himself in danger.
Fortunately, the victim wasn't alone. His dog, Ruby, was lying next to the hole where his owner was stuck.
Officer Bennetts' body camera footage shows him telling the man to call Ruby over, and the dog quickly came to him and joined the rescue effort.
This dog helped rescue her freezing owner!
The officer and dog's exceptional teamwork was captured in the footage, which saw them tying a rescue disc to the victim's dog, Ruby.
She then runs back across the thin ice to her trapped owner when he calls her.
Once the trapped man had the disc, the rest of the rescue was quick.
The officer was able to pull the man out of the water with the help of a firefighter also on the scene.
According to the police, the 65-year-old was in the lake for around 16 minutes. He was taken to hospital as a precaution but was released soon after.
The man is lucky he had his dog with him!
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshots/X/@mspnorthernmi