On Sunday, December 12, 2010, at approximately 7:00 AM, 9-1-1 Dispatch called Dr. Callen. The Penn Township Fire Department requested her presence at a rescue. A dog had fallen through the ice and was unable to get himself out.
Ken and Mary Dietrich first heard a dog barking about 3:00 AM. When it went on for over an hour, they called several neighbors to see if anyone knew why. No one else had even noticed. The Dietrichs got worried and went looking for dog. That is when they found a young St. Bernard, who had fallen through the thin ice of a neighbor's pond. There was a path through the ice from his attempts to get out of the water. The dog was approximately 150 feet from the shore and all that was visible was his head and front feet hanging on to the ice.
Penn Township Police Officer, Denny Crawford and the members of the Fire Department had to come up with a way to get the dog through the thin ice which covered most of the pond. Ultimately, they decided to use a plastic canoe to pull and row across the thin ice. In this manner, Assistant Chief Bill Glace and the owner of the canoe, Fireman Roger Skipp were able to reach the dog. By using the loose skin at the back of the dog's neck, Bill was able to hold onto him while Assistant Chief Glace, Firemen Ryan Creed and Kent Shoemaker pulled the canoe and the dog to safety.
Dr. Callen was concerned about the dog having severe hypothermia from being imersed in the icy water for many hours and decided to transport him to the Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty Emergency Center for treatment. Amazingly, his temperature was 97 degrees (normal temperature is between 100.5 - 102.5) and the staff was able to warm him to normal body temperature with just using a hair dryer. Luckily, St. Bernards are made for cold weather!
Officer Crawford had notified the Butler County Humane Society that the dog was staying at Twinbrook Animal Clinic, Inc., until his family could be located. The dog's owners were able to find him by calling BCHS. Thanks to the hard work of so many people, Diesel and his family where reunited the next day.
