Firefighters rescue elderly man, dog from icy water

Imlay Township resident and his dog were pulled from a pond by rescuers who were called to the home on Friday evening. Photo courtesy Kip Reaves IMLAY TWP. — Just a day after firefighters retrieved the body of an Imlay City man after he broke through the ice on a Arcadia Township Lake while fishing, an elderly South Van Dyke Road man went through the ice trying to rescue his dog.

This time, however, tragedy was averted.

The death of Douglas Mott, 49, was fresh in everyone’s mind as Lapeer County Sheriff’s Dept. Sgt. Joe Nesbit, the Imlay City Fire Dept., the Attica Township Fire Dept. Ice Rescue Team, and Lapeer County EMS arrived at the home on the 2000 block of Van Dyke just after 8 p.m.

Imlay City Fire Chief Kip Reaves said when he arrived he found a man in his 70s soaking wet on a paddle boat behind the man’s house and Nesbit in a nearby boat clutching the man’s threeAn year-old Doberman.

Reaves said the man’s wife was “highly excited.” She had told Central Dispatch earlier that their dog had fallen through the ice in the middle of their pond and her husband, who was trying to rescue the dog, had also broken through the thin ice.

Nesbit said when he arrived at the home he was concerned he’d “find the same results” rescuers found the day before on Stanton Lakes, but instead he found the homeowner on the paddle boat about 20 feet off shore and his dog struggling in the water another 50 to 60 feet farther out. “The guy was almost crying,” said Nesbit. “Being a dog owner myself, I was willing to take the risk.”

He said that while having a V-bottomed boat made getting to the stricken dog a fairly easy matter, he got soaked pulling it out of the water and once in the boat, he couldn’t hang on to the dog and paddle at the same time. He said getting the 50-pound animal into the boat with him was “a bit of a struggle.”

Reaves said one of his firefighters broke through the ice trying to throw a rope to Nesbit. That firefighter was unhurt but soaked. Using the rope he was trying to throw, firefighters pulled the would-be rescuer to shore and put him into a warm fire truck.

In the process of getting a retrieval rope to Nesbit and the dog, an Attica firefighter in an ice rescue suit broke through the ice about halfway out and had to swim and crawl the rest of the way.

Imlay City firefighters, using ropes and slings, managed to pull the paddle boat and its lone occupant ashore. Reaves said the man, though wet and very cold, was unharmed.

He said Lapeer County EMS crews checked the man and his wife out, but did not take them to the hospital.

The man, said Reaves, told him they had heard a moaning wail coming from the large pond behind their house about 10 minutes after letting their dog out, as they normally do. Reaves said the man told him his flashlight caught the dog’s eyes in the pond, struggling just above the ice line, so he tried to push his small pontoon paddle boat out to rescue the animal, but he broke through the ice and fell into about five feet of water. The man was able to climb back on the pedal boat but could not maneuver the boat due to the ice.

“We had quite a conversation with the homeowner about thin ice and the recent tragedy at Stanton Lakes in Arcadia Township,” said Reaves, adding, “The homeowner confided that he knew the dangers, but the dog is their pet and very important to them. That is quite understandable. Thanks to Attica Township Fire Dept, having the right equipment and training to get the job done smoothly and safely, it all went well.”

Nesbit, who changed into a dry uniform and continued his shift, said, “The ice isn’t safe for anybody.”

“ We’d like to reiterate how unsafe the ice is right now. We need to be extra careful. Warn your children and watch your pets. Dogs have been known to chase squirrels onto the ice and skid right into open water or break through the ice,” said Reaves.