The mature golden retriever broke through the ice sometime between Boxing Day night and Thursday morning, before LaVallee spotted him from his bathroom window overlooking the pond.
Rose Madore, a receptionist with the West Coast Veterinary Clinic in Stephenville, said it looks like the dog will be OK after his ordeal.
The golden retriever was discharged to his owners, who were not identified but live on Kippens Road, on Thursday afternoon. Madore said they would be monitoring the dog for the next 24 hours.
Const. Kelsey Ford of the Bay St. George RCMP, said the owners reported the dog missing after they returned home late Wednesday night. They went out searching for their pet, but never found him.
LaVallee said it was shortly after 8 a.m. when he noticed something unusual towards the edge of the pond. He took a photo with his cellphone and, since the object wasn’t moving, thought it might be a box or something that blew onto the ice.
A short time later he looked out again and noticed the object moving, then discovered it was a dog on the other side of the pond. He said the dog looked like it was about to die, with its head down on the pond ice.
He then went to the next street over, Youngville Drive, to see if he could get to the dog. When the animal saw LaVallee he lifted up his head, but seemed to be frozen from the hips down.
Shortly after, the police officers that he’d called arrived.
Ford credited Const. Kris LeGresley for finding a path through the brush in order to grab the dog from the ice. The two officers took turns carrying the dog back to their vehicle and transported him to the veterinary clinic.
“These are heroes of the community,” said LeVallee of the police officers. “Despite doing a very long shift they were very respectful and worked really well together saving that dog’s life.”
(The Western Star - Dec 28, 2012)
