Local Resident Jumps Into Ice-Cold Creek In Order To Save Dog's Life

Nov 06, 2020 by apost team

During the cold seasons, kids and adults like to skate and play across frozen lakes and rivers. As long as the water underneath is solid, everyone can enjoy themselves. But if the ice is thin, lives could be in danger. This is what one dog experienced in February of 2019 as he was taken for a walk.

Luckily, however, Wheatfield, New York resident Don Chatten was there to save the dog's life.

On a cold wintry day in Tonawanda, New York, a man named Don Chatten was out walking his two dogs in Elliot Creek Park, as ABC 7 News reports. The three had been out for a while, and it was time to head back home. They were crossing over a bridge when one of his dogs noticed something in the water beneath them. He began to bark for a minute.

Don could not initially see anything but did hear some noise. He thought that maybe it was a duck and shrugged it off. But his dogs would not let up and kept barking. He stopped again and took another look at the water. This was the moment he realized there was a dog trapped in the icy water.

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After realizing a dog was struggling to get out of the water, Don rushed to its aid. He ran down the steps of the bridge and got to the edge of the lake. Before doing so, he wanted to make sure his dogs did not jump in the water to try and help. So to make sure his dogs were safe, he released them from their leashes and kept them from following him.

A woman was standing nearby, looking very concerned and upset. As WKBW News tells the story in the below video, Don asked her to call 911, which she did, but he knew it would be too late for the dog if they sat and waited. Before jumping in, Don gave the woman his jacket, wallet, and other items so they wouldn’t get wet. There was a lot of mud and the ice was too slick to walk on. He got down and began to crawl his way to the dog. Some of the ice eventually broke up, and he was waist-deep in the freezing cold water that was underneath.

Don was familiar with this lake and knew how deep it would be, WKBW News reports. He had played in the water with his dogs many times when he and his parents visited the park when he was younger. He broke more of the ice to get himself closer to the dog. When he finally reached him, he wrapped the dog inside some of his clothes, keeping him as warm as possible.

Don, with the dog in his arms, turned around and broke more of the ice to find his way back towards land. He walked slowly so he would not trip and fall. As he got back towards the shore, the woman standing there helped the two of them out of the water.

While speaking to WKBW News, he mentioned that the woman standing by should receive some credit as she did what she could to help the dog as well. Once they both were on land, he gave the dog to the woman and the three of them made their way up the hill. After getting out of the park, Don took off his shirts since they were soaked and put on his flannel jacket to warm himself up a bit, according to Buffalo News.

It was later stated that the shivering and trembling dog was taken to a veterinarian to be examined, according to ABC Channel 6 News. 

"You know, you don't find people who will go out of their way to do stuff for you… let alone jump in the ice-cold river and save your dog. I just can't even say thank you enough,” said Michael Litten, the dog's owner, in an interview with the local outlet.

It is amazing how intuitive animals can be. If Don’s dogs had not been so persistent in getting his attention, who knows how much longer the dog trapped in the water would have survived before he would have been rescued.

Did you have a pet growing up? Were they ever trapped somewhere you could not reach? How were they able to get out? Leave your story in the section below. Have your friends and family read this story to see what they have to say.