Dog owners out for a walk near Vancouver’s Trout Lake witnessed an impressive rescue.
A dog wandered out onto the frozen lake and fell through, becoming stranded in the icy water. Luckily for the pup, a local woman — who was not the dog’s owner — took quick action to get it to safety.
Ben West, who was out with his own dog, happened to be filming on his phone and captured the entire rescue on video.
“A dog went out on the ice and fell through at Trout Lake and without hesitating this woman went out in the water breaking the ice with her hands and rescued the dog,” he wrote on Instagram.
In the video, bystanders warn the woman not to go out on the thin ice, concerned for her safety.
“He can’t get out, so I’ll have to go in,” she says as she makes her way towards the lake. She then goes out onto the ice and begins to break it up as she makes her way towards the animal, becoming submerged in the water as she works to free the dog.
“Community members all rushed to help and support her. We were all calling the dog’s name so it would keep swimming,” West wrote.
After the animal was pulled from the water, the rescuer was rushed to a nearby home where she warmed up with a bath while neighbours called the paramedics.
West immediately uploaded his video to Instagram, and eventually shared it on YouTube, where dozens of commenters celebrated the mystery woman’s bravery.
West himself was amazed at the scene that had unfolded before him.
“This was the most heroic thing I’ve ever seen in real life,” he wrote. “[I’m] still in shock.”
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