Caledonia Fire Department Rescues Two Dogs in a Pond

Firefighters with the Caledonia Fire Department rescued two dogs trapped in a pond after they had fallen through the ice at 7307 Douglas Ave. at 1:17 p.m. Monday.

The dogs, a mother named Zuna, and Elvis, her 4-month-old puppy, belonged to a neighbor, Cheryl Bergemann, who lived a few houses to the south of the property.

Bergemann said her niece accidentally let the dogs out, and when they didn't come back in 15 minutes, she started looking for them.

"We went door-to-door trying to find them and then we heard barking, and I said, 'That's Zuna,'" Bergemann said.

The dogs had fallen through the ice about 25 feet from the shore in a pond behind her neighbor's house. Once Bergemann found the dogs, she called 911. She estimates that the dogs had been in the water for about 20 minutes.

Once on scene, Battalion Chief Jeff Buenger said they initially called for a boat to help rescue the dogs, but the homeowner told fire personnel that the water was shallow. Buenger said his rescue personnel wore ice water diving suits to get the dogs.

"One of the men had a rope tied to him and went out on the water to bring the dogs onto shore, and another man stayed on shore with the other end of the rope to keep him safe," Buenger said. "But the water turned out to be only waist deep. This one had a happy ending and the dogs are cold, but they are safe."