FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. --
A dog rescued from an icy pond is back home recovering. Firefighters used a boat and their axes to break through the ice and pull the pooch from the frigid water in Forsyth County.
Firefighters said it is amazing that the dog survived. Neighbors believe the dog may have been in the water a long time before a homeowner spotted the dog in a back yard pond and called 911 for help.
Firefighter James Cook showed Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Regan how he used an ax to break through 1-inch thick ice in their quest to rescue a cocker spaniel drowning in an icy pond.
It takes a few whacks just to get through this (ice), said Cook.
"The only thing you could see was the top of his nose. It was kind of hard to see if you didn't know what you were looking for," said Zack Buice of the Forsyth County Fire Department.
The dog fell through thin ice near the center of the pond and had already been treading water for about an hour. Forsyth County firefighters used a small boat to reach the dog.
"I grabbed hold of him and sat him here in between my legs. He was pretty frozen," said firefighter James Cook. "As cold as it was, and as long as he was in there, I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did. I'm glad we were able to get to him before he gave up."
The pond rescue was a dramatic reminder of the danger of ice.
"You may be able to throw a brick out into the middle of the pond and it may not break, but that doesn't mean it's going to support your body weight," said Jason Shivers of the Forsyth County Fire Department.
"I'm a dog lover. I've got six dogs of my own, so it was great to save somebody's dog. I'm sure they thought of that dog as family and we saved their family member," said Cook.
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