It's always amazing to think about how police officers, the military, the Coast Guard, and others put their lives on the line to save their fellow man. The selflessness it must take to be able to go into a situation where you could possibly lose your own life to save someone else's is just unbelievable.
But when those same people put their lives on the line to save an animal in trouble? Now that takes it to a whole new level of amazing. Luckily for one Labrador in Frankfort, MI, there were plenty of those life-saving Coast Guard folks around to witness his recent frosty swim.
When Coast Guard crews witnessed a Labrador jump into an icy channel in Michigan's Bestie Lake, they immediately knew she was in trouble. The dog plunged straight through the ice and into the frigid water where she struggled to stay afloat.
Amazingly, the dog just happened to jump into Bestie Lake right near a Coast Guard Station where members of the team were having a meeting and were able to see the dog in the water.
"The dog went straight down and was in the water," Tim Putnam from the Coast Guard crew told NBC News. "We knew he wasn't getting out himself."
That's when the Coast Guard sprang into action, including Putnam, who dove into the freezing water and swam through loose ice to reach the Labrador. Once he was in reach of the shivering dog, he could see that she was trying to swim in his direction.
"It was almost like he knew it was his last chance," said Putnam told NBC News. "Luckily we got him out in time, it didn't look like he had too much left in him."
As you can see in the video below, Putnam finally reached the dog and grabbed her — and, with the help of his Coast Guard crew, he was able to pull her to shore where she could finally get some relief from the freezing water.
After rescuing the Labrador, the Coast Guard crew brought her to Benzie County Animal Shelter in Beulah, MI where animal control staff informed them that the dog was a three-to-five-year-old, healthy female.
Unfortunately for the pooch, she had no identification or microchip, so the shelter is currently searching for her owner.
Here's the happy ending you've been waiting for, though: If no owner comes forward to retrieve the dog (now named "Betsie" after the lake where she was rescued), there's a very good chance that Tim Putnam and his wife will end up adopting her.
"Maybe it was just meant to be," said Putnam.
It sure sounds like it! What an absolutely amazing story.
Please SHARE this heartwarming rescue video with all your dog-loving friends and family!!
