Dog rescued after falling through ice on frozen river

A dog’s struggle to survive brought out the best in the community of Troy, Ohio. The dog was seen struggled in the freezing water of the Great Miami River on Monday morning. An electric crew spotted the dog near the Adam Street bridge at around 9:00am as they were removing Xmas decorations from the bridge.

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Police and fire crews arrived, tossing a rope to the dog, hoping it would grab it in its mouth. Other rescuers and residents rallied along the side of the river encouraging the dog to swim their way. Eventually Troy firefighter Ryan Havenar went out on the ice using a specially designed float made for ice and water rescues.

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Havenar was able to grab hold of Stella and bring her back to shore. She was rushed to the Stonyridge Veterinary Clinic for treatment. Doctors there gave her an IV with warm fluids and wrapped her up in a ‘snuggy’ blanket. Stella, the 7-year-old brown Labrador retriever is now back with her owner.

Her owner, Barb Igoe, was tearfully reunited with her dog late on Monday afternoon. She said: “They did an amazing job of getting her out and I would like to thank everyone who helped.” Igoe says Stella ran off on Monday morning when she let them outside to go to the bathroom. She contacted the Miami County Animal Shelter about her missing dog and found out a short time later that it was Stella rescued from the river.