TL/DR –
A pet dog named Ruby saved her owner who had fallen into an icy lake in Michigan by aiding a police officer in a rescue operation. The police officer attached a rescue disc and rope to Ruby’s collar and instructed the trapped owner to call her, which allowed him to grab the disc and get pulled to safety. The rescue was captured on Motor Carrier Officer Kammeron Bennetts’ body cam and the video has been widely shared and praised online.
Pet dog Ruby helps in owner’s dramatic icy lake rescue
Heroic pet dog Ruby was pivotal in a dramatic rescue this week, saving her owner who had fallen into a freezing Michigan lake. Ruby, the brown and white patched dog, enabled a police officer to successfully carry out an ice rescue in hazardous conditions, as confirmed by Michigan state police.
Video captured on Officer Kammeron Bennetts’ body cam of the event has since gone viral online. Arriving at the blizzard scene, Bennetts found the 65-year-old Traverse City man in Arbutus Lake, East Bay Township. Unable to cross the thin ice, Bennetts enlisted Ruby’s help.
“Send your pup here. Will she come to me?” Bennetts called out to the man, learning the dog’s name is Ruby. Bennetts quickly attached a bright orange rescue disc to Ruby’s collar along with a rope before urging her owner to call her back.
The man caught the disc and was told by Bennetts to “kick your feet” and “keep pulling the disc,” he shouted: “Pull, pull, pull!” Subsequently, the man, along with Ruby, was pulled to safety by Bennetts and a firefighter.
Michigan State Police responded to the incident at around 11:45 a.m., after onlookers on the shore saw the man fall through the ice. The man was in the water for nearly 16 minutes before being transported to Munson Medical Center for treatment and was later released.
The rescue video has garnered high praise online for both Ruby and Bennetts. A neighboring police district tweeted, “What a good girl … creative thinking helped save a life!”
The incident occurred during a period of extreme cold, stormy weather across the United States, with winter storm warnings in effect near Lake Michigan. However, a major thaw is forecast next week.
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