Footage of the dramatic rescue was shared widely online after it was captured on motor carrier officer Cameron Bennett's body camera.
Video shows Bennett arriving at the scene of the snowstorm Thursday and finding a 65-year-old Traverse City man who had fallen into frozen Lake Arbutus in East Bay Township.
Unable to cross the thin ice on his own, he enlists the help of a dog.
“Send your puppy here. Will she come to me?'' Mr. Bennetts yells to the man, and the man replies that the dog's name is Ruby.
Ruby: “Come here! Come here, Ruby!” Bennett yelled before the dog lunged at the officer. A bright orange rescue disc is then attached to the collar along with a rope to encourage the owner to call back.
The fallen man grabs the disc and Bennett tells him to kick his leg. “Keep pulling the disc,” he yells. “Pull, pull, pull!”
Eventually, he emerges from the icy water and is rescued by firefighters with Ruby across the snow on his belly and dragged to safety.
Michigan State Police said they responded to a 911 call around 11:45 a.m. after bystanders on the shore saw a man fall through the ice. They said the man had been in the water for about 16 minutes. He was then taken by ambulance to Munson Medical Center for treatment and later released.
Video of the successful rescue garnered much praise for Ruby and Bennett online, as well as calls from nearby police departments. Tweet: “What a good kid…your creative thinking saved my life!”
Cold, stormy weather is raging across much of the continental United States, with winter storm warnings in effect for the lee of Lake Michigan. The Washington Post previously reported that record cold and back-to-back storms led to the most extensive snowfall in mid-January in 20 years, according to recent data, but a significant thaw is expected next week. ing.
