Henry Raymond
Fairfax News => Current News & Events => Topic started by: Henry on April 12, 2006, 07:18:36 AM
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Not only is this an interesting story about caring, the dog's owner is Gordon Little, a 1973 graduate of BFA Fairfax. This happened around March 31st.
Milton dog pulled from icy pond
• Trucker with boom gets the job done
By Lauren Ober
Free Press Staff Writer
MILTON — While many people strolled the streets in their shorts and flip-flops or sunbathed on their lawns Friday, Zeus the German shepherd was drowning in an ice-covered pond next to Arrowhead Lake.
In mid-morning, Milton Police received calls that a dog had fallen through the ice. A number of motorists on U.S. 7 had seen the dog floundering in the freezing water and stopped to help. By the time Dustin Keelty of the Milton Fire Department arrived, there were about eight people trying to coax the dog ashore.
"He was definitely worn out," Keelty-said.
Within minutes, traffic on U.S. 7 next to the pond came to a standstill. One of the people stuck in traffic was a driver for Kamco Supply Corp. of Williston. The driver's vehicle happened to be a boom truck used for loading construction' materials at building sites.
The boom truck is equipped with an extendable arm with a side reach of 63 feet Keelty said. The driver offered his services and extended the boom out over the pond, then one of the occupants of the truck climbed out the boom.
The Kamco employee, whose name Keelty did not know, attempted to lasso the dog with a makeshift lariat. Zeus's head was bobbing below the water because of fatigue, making the lasso attempt impossible.
After trying without success to lasso the dog, the anonymous rescuer lowered a strap into the water, and the dog reached up and grabbed it in his mouth. Zeus held tight while the rescuer pulled the dog onto the boom.
"It was incredible to see," Keelty said.
As the rescue unfolded, Zeus's owner, 53-year-old Gordon Little, was fretting about what happened to his four-legged friend. About 20 to 30 minutes before Zeus was rescued, little had taken the dog out for a run on his Crest Drive property. Little, who has owned many German shepherds over the years, says Zeus would often run to the edge of the one-acre lot, but would always return on Little's command.
"This morning, I don't know what happened. I could have killed him myself," Little said.
Little believes that Zeus might have caught the scent of a female and took off in search of a lady friend. Little pursued the dog through the woods, but had to stop because he suffers from circulation problems.
"I had to give up. I almost had a heart attack," Little said.
Little was unaware of the events unfolding at the pond, which is about three-quarters of a mile from his house, until the police called him to say they had found the 6-year-old dog. Because Little is legally blind, he couldn't drive to pick up the dog, so police gave him a ride to the veterinarian's office where Zeus was taken.
Police took the dog to Milton Veterinary Hospital, where Dr. Nancy Frantz and her staff administered a warm IV to Zeus, whose core temperature had dropped to 88 degrees. Normal canine temperature is between 99.5 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Veterinary technicians wrapped the dog in blankets and sat him on a water heater. Frantz says it took about an hour and a half for Zeus's temperature to return to normal. Had the dog's temperature dropped any lower, he would have been at serious risk for health problems or even death, Frantz says.
"He was very lucky someone saw him. He should make a full recovery," Frantz said. Zeus perked up immediately when he heard his owner's voice. His teeth were still chattering, but once he saw Little, he was ready to go home.
Now that Zeus is safe at home, Little's first order of business is to get him neutered. Next, Little would like to find the Kamco driver who rescued his dog so he could say thank you.
"It's nice that there are still some kind-hearted people left in the world," Little said. __________
Got a question, comment, story idea about Milton? Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or
lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com