Police rescue dog from icy Ford Lake

Police rescued a dog that fell through the ice of Ford Lake Tuesday morning in Ypsilanti Township.

The dog was about 40 feet off the shore of a hiking path in North Bay Park in the water when first responders arrived about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.

An Ypsilanti Township ordinance officer and an Ypsilanti police officer rescued the dog by pulling it to shore with a stick with a hook on the end.

The dog’s owner had attempted to save it by walking out onto the thin ice on Ford Lake but was unsuccessful, said Ypsilanti Township Fire Department Lt. Fred Anstead. The owner did not fall through the ice.

The owner should not have gone out on the ice himself, Anstead said. People should call 911 for help if they're in a similar situation, he added.

A passerby called 911 to report the dog stuck on the ice in Ford Lake. First responders managed to keep the dog swimming until it was rescued, Anstead said.

The owner and his dog had been walking on a trail that passes over a series of islands in the middle of the lake.

Ypsilanti Fire Department crews took the dog and its owner home after the rescue, Anstead said. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Multiple units were dispatched to North Bay Park for the incident, and a number of them parked on the right shoulder of eastbound Interstate 94 on the bridge over Ford Lake.

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Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.