WASHINGTON – A 77-year-old man was rescued from the South River Wednesday morning after he had tried to retrieve his dog, which had fallen through the ice.
Anne Arundel County police say the rescue took place at the bottom of a steep embankment near the 700 block of Sonne Drive in the Bon Haven area. Police received the first call for help about 11:15 a.m.
When officers arrived to the river, they found the unnamed dog owner standing in chest-deep water looking for his 1-year-old Labrador retriever.
Concerned about the risk of hypothermia, officers convinced the man to come out of the water. But as he walked to shore, he stumbled on his dog submerged in the water.
The man tried to haul the dog out of the river, but he fainted and fell back into the water. Two officers then waded into the river to pull out both the man and his dog.
The man was taken to the hospital to be treated for exposure and is expected to recover, according to police.
Despite efforts to give the dog CPR, the Labrador had been under water too long and did not survive, police say.
