Fire and police crews helped rescue two dogs that were trapped in the water under Dix Ave. in Dearborn on Thursday morning.
We're told the dogs were trying to eat dead fish, so they jumped onto a piece of wood. That piece of wood sank and the dogs got stuck.
Sources believe the dogs had been trapped there for a long time, and they couldn't reach them.
According to Dearborn Police Lt. Gary Mann, the department got a call from a concerned resident around 8 a.m. Officers tried to rescue the dogs, but eventually had to call in animal control officers to try to coax them to safety.
It didn’t work, so the group decided to call on the Dearborn Fire Department for extra help. The dogs were so hard to get out of the water fire crews eventually made the decision to launch a boat onto the Rouge River out of Melvindale so that they could get closer to the dogs.
“Frankly, I can’t remember the last time we had a rescue to this extend,” said Lt. Mann. “An actual rescue like this is pretty unique, but they certainly didn’t do anything to deserve to be standing in knee deep and freezing cold water this time of year.”
Lt. Mann said officers were concerned that the dogs may die, a real possibility given that once rescued the dogs had to be rushed to an emergency veterinarian.
One person present at the rescue said that one of the dogs could hardly stand on it’s own. It’s believed the dog was suffering from hypothermia. The dogs are now recovering.
“For the sounds of it both dogs are doing well,” said Lt. Mann.
