Quick-Thinking Police Officer Borrows Kayak To Save Dog Fallen Through Frozen Lake

Living in Minnesota, Deputy Patrick Mariakis is no stranger to icy cold weather. Still, it’s not everyday that he gets a call to rescue a dog from a frozen lake. But that’s exactly what happened during his night shift on Monday. When he arrived on scene, he attempted to carefully walk on the frozen ground. Unfortunately, he only made it about 10 feet before the ice broke.

Luckily, the folks who called first responders about the dog were able to help by providing the officer with their kayak. Together, they anchored it with rope to his car — this way, they could pull both the officer and pup back to land ASAP. Still, this was a bit easier said than done.

As can be seen from Patrick’s body cam footage, he slowly but surely makes his way to the dog, who he later learns is named Honey. But once he reaches her, it takes some convincing to get her to trust a stranger.

Once she does, however, the two of them become fast friends. Best of all, they make it back to shore! Here, the helpful neighbors greet Honey with towels, a heated garage, and treats.

“That’s when Honey decided to love life,” Patrick says with a laugh. “[She] was running around with a bunch of treats. There was another dog there too and they were playing around until we were able to call the owner to come reunite with her dog.”

Turns out, Honey was recently adopted. She had only been in her new home for a few days when she managed to squeeze out of a gap in a fence. Needless to say, her owner is grateful to have her back!

As for folks calling Patrick a hero, he believes his co-workers would have done the same thing.

“We never show up at a scene and say, ‘Ah, it’s not worth it.’ We’ll do our best,” he explains. “I’m a dog lover. I knew I couldn’t personally sit there and watch that and not try to help.”

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here!