A portion of the Detroit River located in Ecorse, Michigan is a favorite spot for many photographers. It is teeming with wildlife and offers amazing views of nature.
One freezing day, a photographer was snapping some shots when he saw a dog walking across the frozen river. Coyotes from the nearby woods chased him and he was forced to walk to the center of the thin ice.
Airboat
For four days, animal rescue groups tried to find ways to get the pup and take him to a safe place. The coyotes were still there waiting for him by the edge, and the icy temperature continued to drop. Many were expecting that the dog would either end up as a meal or perish from the terrifying cold.
Animal rescue and the fire department were called but they refused to do the rescue. The conditions were too dangerous. Then on the fourth day, they saw a man from the Canadian side of the river take his airboat out to the water and started looking for the pooch.
Jude Mead, the Canadian rescuer, found the dog almost immediately. He was stranded in Mud Island. He and a friend grabbed the freezing pooch and drove to the Michigan side. There, a woman named Patricia Trevino, from the River Rouge Animal Shelter took the pup from the brave rescuers.
Patricia then took the pooch to an animal hospital
Miracle
The dog, which they named Alfonso, had blocks of ice frozen coating his matted fur, and he was suffering from frostbite, malnutrition, and severe pancreatitis. They had to put him in a pressurized oxygen chamber to help him recover.
His doctors said that his survival was a miracle. Amazingly, it was his thick matted fur that saved his life. It insulated his body and helped keep some heat internally. If he was groomed, he would have perished much earlier.
Alfonso will be staying in the hospital for several weeks. When he has fully recuperated, he will stay in a foster home until they can find someone to adopt him.
Source: WXYZ-TV Detroit Channel 7 via Youtube