Weather
Fire crews rescue dog in ice drama
From the archive, first published Thursday 29th Dec 2005.
A PET owner has told of her relief after firemen saved her dog's life when it plunged through the ice on a frozen pond.
The rescue in Oswaldtwistle yesterday also prompted fire officers to warn children of the dangers of playing near water in icy weather.
Firemen used specialist inflatable rafts to rescue Shadow, a one-year-old black Labrador, after he fell through the ice at Foxhill Bank Nature Reserve, off Market Street.
They used two 10ft-long inflatable rafts to reach exhausted Shadow, who had been hanging on to the ice with his front paws for around 20 minutes.
They pulled him out of the water around 1.35pm and, although cold and shivering, he was unharmed.
His frantic owner, Caroline Allan, 38, said her pet fell into the icy water while chasing ducks.
Ms Allan, a parking attendant who lives in Market Street, said: "A friend of mine took Shadow out for a walk, but shortly afterwards I got a knock on the door from the fire brigade.
"They took me to the pond and I saw him in the middle where he had fallen through the ice.
"I could see he was very tired.
"I brought him home and, apart from feeling a little sorry for himself, he was fine.
"I stuck him in front of the fire and spoiled him rotten with dog food, bones and even a pork pie.
"I must thank the firemen who worked so hard to get him out of there for doing a wonderful job."
Colin Byers, station manager at Hyndburn fire station, said: "This incident shows it is always unsafe to go on to ice.
"If it will not take the weight of a dog, then it certainly won't take the weight of a child." Despite freezing temperatures overnight, emergency services reported no weather-related road accidents or other incidents in East Lancashire.
Forecasts reveal that, following some brief snow showers later today, temperatures are set to rise well above zero over the coming week, with levels hovering around the seven degree mark.
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