Ohio Deputy Rescues Dog and Woman from Frozen Pond After Owner Falls Through Ice While Saving Pet

Deputy Evan Depew of the Butler Country Sheriff's Office quickly saved a pet parent and her pup from a frozen pond in Ohio thanks to his emergency rescue training

Photo: Butler County Sheriff's Office (2)

A Butler Country Sheriff's Office deputy had to interrupt a rescue effort with his own life-saving mission.

According to the Ohio sheriff's office, on Feb. 6, Deputy Evan Depew was on a "routine patrol" through Liberty Township when he received a call about a woman and her dog caught in the frigid waters of a frozen pond. Thankfully, Depew is a trained member of Emergency Response Services and has experience with risky rescues like what was required to save the pet parent and her dog.

"The quick response to this call saved the life of a woman and her dog," the Butler Country Sheriff's Office shared in their release about the rescue.

Depew arrived on the scene and pulled the woman and her pet to safety. After the rescue, Depew learned how the dog and its owner ended up in the water. According to the release, the dog broke away from its owner and ran out onto the frozen pond, eventually breaking through the ice and into the dangerously cold water below.

In response, the dog's owner tried to save the pup herself by crawling onto the ice towards her pet. Unfortunately, the woman also fell through the ice into the water before saving her canine.

After Depew completed the rescue mission the dog's owner started, the woman and her pup were wrapped in blankets and treated by EMTs. No one was seriously injured during the incident.

In the release, Sheriff Richard K. Jones said that Depew's quick work shows "why it's important for deputies to be trained in technical rescue."

The Poudre Fire Authority of Colorado, which has experience with dog ice rescues, advises pet owners never to attempt to rescue pets that have fallen through thin ice. Instead, pet parents should call 911 immediately if their pet has fallen through ice into frigid water — this ensures that trained rescuers arrive on the scene as quickly as possible and that owners don't put themselves in danger.