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Fredericksburg fire and police pull off dramatic New Year's Day rescue of basset hound in city
Date published: 1/3/2010
BY BILL FREEHLING
Angel the dog's love of adventure landed her in deep water New Year's Day. But luckily for Angel, there were people watching over the basset hound that day. Angel and fellow basset hound Luke live with their owners, married couple Carl Lawson and Paula Bartello, at 1715 Franklin St. in Fredericksburg. There's a pond behind the home that can be seen from the Canal Path. Not far away is the Fredericksburg Dog Park. Though Luke is content to stay in the backyard, Angel likes to roam. When the small pond freezes over, she has a highway to the dog park. Lawson and Bartello put up a fence around their backyard to try to keep Angel from getting onto the frozen pond. But that fence proved no match for Angel on Friday afternoon. About 4:30 p.m., Angel broke through the ice about 40 feet from shore. Bartello and Lawson saw what was happening, quickly called 911 and tried to maneuver out to save Angel, who was struggling to stay afloat. Fredericksburg police officer Tom Evans was the first emergency responder to arrive. He convinced Bartello to wait on shore for soon-to-be-arriving Fredericksburg firefighters rather than go in after Angel. Minutes later Sgt. Chris Madison and firefighter Brian Butler arrived with a small inflatable boat that would prove to be Angel's salvation. They got it blown up within minutes and headed out to the basset hound. Lawson remained waist-deep in the water, shouting for Angel to hold on a little longer. The firefighters slowly broke through the ice and paddled toward Angel. Within 15 minutes they got to the pooch, pulled her from the freezing water and returned to shore, where Bartello was waiting with towels and blankets. Angel appeared unfazed by the incident despite being in the frigid water at least 20 minutes. "All she wanted to do was shake and play," Bartello said. "It was like nothing ever happened." Lawson was taken to Mary Washington Hospital because of concerns over high blood pressure and hypothermia. He stayed there a few hours but is now fine. Yesterday, all seemed well again at 1715 Franklin St. Bartello and Lawson were hanging out with friends watching football, and Angel and Luke greeted visitors with the usual friendly zeal of basset hounds. The one major change: A leash is now hooked up out back to hold Angel any time she needs to go out. Bartello was grateful for the actions of the Fredericksburg police and fire departments. "They're amazing," she said. "I want to thank them for everything." Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Fifteen minutes was the total amount of time it took from the emergency response vehicle arriving on the scene, deploying the boat, paddling out to the dog, rescuing Angel, and the boat returning to shore safely. It is NOT recommended that anyone attempt such a rescue without professional assistance, as frigid temperatures combined with unseen dangers under the surface could be deadly.
stand waist deep in water when you can just go the rest of the way and get it yourself? he wouldnt have been in the water but maybe 5 mins instead of 20 and wouldve saved the fire department a trip.
it took them that long to padle 40 ft to get the thing? i wouldve gotten the dog myself. the ice couldnt be thick if the dog fell through, just break away a path to the dog and drag it out....geez
Geez, this is a story about a dog rescue and people are getting all bent out of shape over the two words, "married couple?" It is sad that our society is so politically polarized that everything becomes a grand conspiracy. Why not include that they're married? Marriage is something to be proud of! (Any with that comment, I am not trying to make any kind of political statement whatsoever.)
I enjoyed the story but I was a little taken back by the fact that the reported felt the need to mention these people were married. Is that really relevant to a story about a dog being resuced from a pond? Not really...
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