NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Firefighters rescued a dog who was adrift on a piece of ice Wednesday morning on the Passaic River after narrowly missing him several times.

Two rescuers, one wearing a dark blue uniform, used an 8-foot rowboat to maneuver near the ice floe and slip a pole around the dog's neck, leading him on board at about 11 a.m., two hours after the dog somehow made it onto the ice.

Newark Police Lt. Derek Glenn said the rescuers included Kearny firefighters. He watched the rescue efforts from the Newark shoreline as the dog, who appeared to be a Rottweiler, repeatedly slipped just out of reach.

``The dog is waving his tail and barking, walking toward the boat, then turning around and walking the other way,'' Glenn said before the rescue. ``Every time they get near him, the ice with the dog on it slowly pulls away.''

The dog had been floating northbound since at least 9 a.m., Glenn said. The dog did not appear to be distressed, frequently sitting down on the ice and watching the rescuers trying to get near him.

The rescue effort was hampered by large chunks of ice that the rescuers had to manually row through, Glenn said. As quickly as they cleared a path through the ice, it closed back around them, he said.

``The ice is just incredible,'' Glenn said. ``They're really being impeded by it. There's these gigantic chunks. This is when a jet ski would really come in handy.''

Newark was about to launch a 21-foot boat to get near the dog and also assist the firefighters, who were visibly tiring after rowing through the large chunks of ice. In the end, though, it wasn't needed.