DOG RESCUE
Andrea O’Neill
An East Kilbride couple helped rescue a dog after it fell in to a frozen lake while playing in the snow.
Levi, an 18-month-old Japanese Akita, was close to death after plunging into the icy waters near to an open-cast mine in Coalburn, near Lesmahagow.
Fire crews and a specialist water rescue team were drafted in to save the drowning pet who had been shivering in the water for two-and-a-half hours.
Nicki McMurtrie and her boyfriend Darren McShane, who run East Kilbride dog walking business Paw Palz, came across the distressing scene while working in the area.
Nicki, who recently moved to the area from Calderwood, said: “We’re huge dog lovers so we wanted to try and help but the firefighters were telling everyone to stay back – it wasn’t safe.
“Everyone was in such a state and the owner, an older lady, was crying as the dog splashed about in the middle of the water with ice all around him.
“He kept going under for about 10 seconds at a time as he tried to grip onto the ice. We could hear him howling – it was awful. I didn’t think he was going to make it. It was the saddest thing I’d ever seen.”
The firefighters called for back-up, pulling resources from stations across Lanarkshire, including the water rescue unit at Motherwell.
The Scottish SPCA and three local vets were also assisting at the scene.
Levi was eventually brought to safety by the water rescue team who used a sled and tethered swimmers to reach him.
Nikki, a former pupil of Calderglen High School, added: “It was so nice when Levi was pulled out the lake. Everyone was clapping and cheering and the dog was surprisingly okay.
“Everyone put their jackets and scarves round the dog as he was carried out and checked over by one of the vets. He couldn’t stand at first and was really quiet and shivering like mad.
“His heart rate was high and his temperature was low so he did so well