"We got to him just in time," said Harwich Fire Department Capt. Kent Farrenkopf. "He had no muscle tone left. He couldn't have lasted much longer."
Bailey's non-excellent adventure started innocently.
"He went out after dinner," said Barbara Roessner of West Harwich, Bailey's owner. "We live on the river. I think he goes down there and looks around sometimes. He's dumb as dirt, but he's a good guy."
Bailey, 8 in human years, didn't come home, and Roessner started to get worried.
"I went out looking for him in the car, thinking this is not like him," said Roessner. "He wasn't around the neighborhood. And then I thought ... 'the river. "
The Herring River is about 90 feet wide near the Roessner residence on Chase Street. Roessner went down to the river's edge with a flashlight. What she saw scared her.
"I could see his eyes in the beam of the flashlight, out in the river," she said. "And I knew I couldn't go out for him."
Bailey was in the middle of the river, in a small patch of open water, surrounded by thawing, shifting ice.
Roessner called 911, and the Harwich Fire Department sprang into action. Lt. Brian Coughlan donned a survival suit and headed out with his comrades.
"I'm from that neighborhood," said Coughlan. "I have a mooring on that river. I know that river pretty well."
Upon arrival, Coughlan could see Bailey swimming in circles, a good sign. "I knew I could get him immediately," he said. "The tide wasn't pulling him away."
Coughlan inched his way out on the ice, lying on a tethered rescue board, pulling himself forward with specially studded hand tools.
Bailey was running out of steam. By the time Coughlan reached him, the dog had spent approximately a half hour in the frigid river.
"He was exhausted," said Coughlan.
"He was holding onto the ice with his front legs. I grabbed them, and they pulled us back."
As soon as Bailey hit dry land, he was whisked off to a veterinarian, who gave him a clean bill of health.
"The dog is fine," said Roessner. "And the fire department is fabulous."
Coughlan shook off the hero label. "I don't know about that," he said. "This was strictly a team effort."
Farrenkopf also had a point to make.
"When someone comes across an animal in trouble on the ice, immediately call 911. Let us make a proper rescue. Don't endanger yourself."
