Firefighters Save Dog From Icy Lake

DENVER (AP) - A black Labrador named Pearl who plunged through thin ice on a Denver lake Tuesday was reunited with her owner after a firefighter in a dive suit scooted along the ice and scooped up the scrambling pooch.

The rescue was caught on video by two television stations. Pearl could be seen desperately pawing at the slick ice for several minutes, trying and failing to pull herself out of the water in a northwest Denver city park.

Pearl's owner, Wanda Padilla, ran out on the ice after her and a passer-by called 911.

"I went out on the ice about 25 feet, but it started cracking," Padilla said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

Firefighter Tony Padilla, a 28-year veteran of the department - and no relation to the dog's owner - put on a dive suit and pulled himself along the surface until he reached Pearl. A backup diver was on shore and Tony Padilla was attached to a rope.

Once the firefighter pulled Pearl onto firmer ice, she ran to her owner and others on the shore, tail wagging vigorously. Padilla said the 14-month-old dog was at first frightened by her rescuer's frog suit and flippers but did go up to him.

"She's a lot better, once we got her dried off," Wanda Padilla said.

Fire Lt. Phil Champagne said Pearl was in the water for about 10 minutes, not long enough to get hypothermia.

Champagne said the fire department gets about 20 calls every spring about dogs falling through ice on city lakes.

"They see the ducks out there and they want to be macho. But the dog is heavier than the ducks," Champagne said.

That's just what Pearl was doing, Padilla said.

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