MACEDONIA, Ohio --
On Tuesday, Macedonia firefighters took part in an ice rescue training, and on Thursday the training paid off with a real rescue at the same park.
Instead of saving a person, however, it was a dog in need of rescuing.
Izzy, a curious golden retriever, ran out onto a pond after a goose landed on it.
"The goose landed in the water and she went right after it and went in the water and then couldn't get out," said Izzy's owner, Beth Miko.
Izzy tried to swim to safety but her paws only broke more ice. She was surrounded and stuck, 30 feet from the shore.
"To see her face looking at me, like, 'Mom, help!' There was nothing I could do," said Miko.
Miko stepped onto the very thin ice. Luckily service director Jim Crevar happened to be nearby and put a stop to her rescue attempt.
"I just coached her and suggested that she get off the ice before she became part of the incident," said Crevar.
Macedonia firefighters who had just started their shift hurried to the pond. Brian Bell and Dave Chesnik put on their diving gear and crawled to their four-legged patient.
"The dog was hanging onto the ice shelf probably up to its neck. Really wasn't doing much. You could tell it was worn out, a little bit cold," said Bell.
Chesnik said, "Time is of the essence. Every second that goes by means more of your faculties start to fail."
One of the firefighters grabbed Izzy's neck the other her hind legs. After 11 minutes in 40-degree water, the golden retriever was retrieved.
She suffered hypothermia and her body temperature dropped 4 degrees, but she is now safe.
"She doesn't really want to get close to the pond anymore," said Miko.
A Macedonia veterinarian used warm blankets to bring Izzy's body temperatures back up.
As a reminder, firefighters said with warming temperatures, no ice is safe ice.
