GEORGETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Some residents of Georgetown Township are grateful to have a part of the family back home and warm, after they fell in the freezing waters here at Cedar Lake East earlier this week.
"It came in as a service call," says Jereme Vandenheuvel, a firefighter at the Georgetown Township Fire Department.
A hole in the ice on on Monday. Inside, a dog named Hazel struggling to get out. Vandenheuvel and the dive team at the fire department leapt to action.
"We want to make sure that, you know she's safe just like anybody else would be," says Vandenheuvel.
He got into a thermal dive suit to stay warm.
"I got tied up to a rope right away and entered in," says Vandenheuvel.
Diving into the frozen water, breaking ice along the way to clear a path. When he got to Hazel, she was visibly tired.
"She was holding on just by her paws at the ice shelf and most of her body was in the water and it was clear she was exhausted," says Vandenheuvel.
Vandenheuvel, who has a dog himself, felt this rescue was near and dear to his heart.
"I remember looking at Hazel in the face and thinking about you know, how she wants to get out," he says. "You can see it on a dog's face."
Once he was able to grab her, the two were pulled back to shore by the rope.
"She just kind of flopped on the ground," says Vandenheuvel. "And we started the rewarming process as fast as possible.
Hazel, safe and sound, and Vandenheuvel is thankful to have been a part of it.
"That was a positive outcome," he says. "With the dive team and the water rescues and things that we do, it's not always that way. And so it's a highlight when it works out smoothly."
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