Dog rescued after being stranded on river ice

A stray dog that spent hours on the frozen Maumee River will have a Merry Christmas thanks to the Washington Township Fire Department, which rescued the it on Tuesday with the help of its hovercraft. The dog, a black chow mix, was reported to be in good shape and was turned over to the Lucas County Dog Warden for examination by a veterinarian.



The rescue operation began at about 3:30 p.m., when a woman driving on the Veterans Glass City Skyway Bridge spotted the canine, which was about 100 yards offshore and a quarter mile upriver of the bridge. "I looked and I said, 'I think that's a dog,'" Shelli Smith recounted at the scene of the rescue on Tuesday night.



Ms. Smith and her driving companion, Christy Lawrence, teach at Walbridge Elementary School. They reported the sighting to the Coast Guard and were advised to call Toledo police, which they did, setting in motion the rescue effort. Toledo police and firefighters responded to a Water Street site, where the dog was visible from shore, and decided to call Washington Township for assistance.



Washington Township Firefighter Mel Russell set out alone in the hovercraft, which glided across the ice on a cushion of air created by a powerful fan. He had to make more than one pass at the dog, which tried to elude him, but then was able to reach over and pull it aboard the craft. Once ashore, a few minutes inside a warm ambulance brought the dog back from the brink, no worse for wear. Its owner is now being searched for