Dogs, Frozen Ponds and Canine CPR

by Linda
(Deerfield, Mich)

I had trusted a friend telling me that animals and "dogs" always know when it is safe to go our onto frozen ice, as ponds and lakes. WRONG !!!

Learned the hard way. My husband just happened to observe our 3 dogs playing in the snow and continue out onto the frozen pond ice, also snow covered.

Saw them all break through the ice and begin to struggle trying to get out. He ran out, grabbed a ladder, stretched it out onto the breaking ice, got all 3 out and himself safely, but shortly, one dog collapsed from hypothermia and exhaustion, and quickly died.

This entire event probably occurred in less than 30 minutes. Fortunately, my husband did not collapse.

Now we put up a winter fence to prevent them from getting onto the pond, which is 25' deep.

Possibly if my husband had known how to perform canine cpr, he might have saved the third dog. I had taken the course, but was not home at the time.

Trust your own instincts or your vet's advice about the safety of your pets, not necessarily the "down home" advice of a neighbor.

Take a course in Animal CPR, it is offered by the Red Cross. It is easy to do.