Dogsey

How many dog owners would crawl out across a frozen river to rescue a dog that fell through ice? It does happen, but one man stripped down to his underwear in order to do – and fell in himself - in an incident described as “a foolish act of bravery” by a witness, and “extremely dangerous” by a spokesman from Essex Fire Service.

The fire service was not called, but witness Mr Wenbore of Raleigh, Essex, photographed the incident and watched the dog owner strip to his pants and start crawling across the ice. After falling in, he managed to get hold of the dog and put it on the ice. He then swam back to the ice and crawled back to dry land where he put his clothes back on and continued on his way.

The incident took place at around 10 am in the River Stour, Dedham, Essex and came after Essex assistant divisional officer Stuart McMillan last week issued a warning on the very subject.

“Even though the ice appears to be strong it can be eggshell thin and anyone who falls through into the water below could get trapped under the ice and would only be able to survive for minutes in the freezing water,” he said.

He went on to say that people chasing dogs on to the ice is a common cause, adding: “It isn't worth the risk. Dogs will normally make it safely off the ice and back to the shore – the same cannot be said for people.”

Update: You can watch Malcolm Jarvis (the dog owner) talk about it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-17046868

And here: http://www.dogsey.com/dog-news.php?t=164112