NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Lola is one lucky Lab, thanks to two local firefighters.
Lola, who appears to be at least part black Labrador retriever, according to fire Lt. Graham Rowe, was out for a walk late Monday morning when she wandered onto the ice of a small pond. Suddenly, she fell through.
Her owners, Carrie Bianchi and Gabriel Lamphere, called 911 and two firetrucks and an ambulance responded. When firefighters arrived, only the front of Lola was visible, as she clung desperately to the ice, Rowe said.
Dressed in ice rescue suits, firefighters Jeffrey Judge and Christopher Jenkins went into action. Judge waded into the water and headed out toward Lola, about 20 feet away, said Rowe, who directed the operation. Judge carried a long pole equipped with a harness, into which he placed the dog, Rowe explained.
The two firefighters then pulled Lola out of the frigid water, which measured about four to five feet deep. “You could tell it (Lola) wanted out,” Rowe said, noting that sometimes animals that are being rescued will struggle against those helping them.
Lola was returned to her owners and seems to have weathered her ordeal quite well.
“Thank you so much! She’s doing fine after a nice warm shower!” Lamphere and Bianchi wrote in an email to the Fire Department.
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Details for this story were provided by The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass.
