(NECN: Mike Cronin) - Huckleberry, a 105-pound Bernese mountain dog is doing fine Tuesday.
He and his owner, Steve Doucette, stopped by the Charlton Fire Department to thank them for what was a scary ordeal on Monday.
Huckleberry fell through a Charlton, Mass. pond and was rescued by the firefighters.
"He was very afraid, very scared, and really needed a little bit of hugging and attention," said Doucette.
Doucette says his pet sitter took Huckleberry and his other dog, Bogey, for a walk. Bogey chased something onto a pond and Huckleberry followed.
"Bogey got back and Huckleberry decided to take his little bath," said Doucette.
Charlton Fire says the 3-year-old struggled to keep himself afloat for almost an hour as crews tried to find the water through the woods.
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"He was able to hold himself up," said Lt. Brian Ouellette. "He was trying to get out, but he couldn't."
One of the firefighters got into a rescue suit, crawled to Huckleberry and pulled him to safety. Charlton trains annually to save humans and
animals.
Chief Charles Cloutier says they haven't had to make many ice rescues this winter because the ice has been thick, but the conditions have changed.
"The ice is very dangerous," said Cloutier. It's not at a point where it's solid any longer. We've had a long season of thawing and refreezing."
Doucette says this shows people and animals need to be careful around ice. As a thank you, he donated $250 to the Charlton Firefighters Association.
"Actually, Huckleberry told me I had to bring the check with me today," said Doucette.
As for Huckleberry, his owner says he won't be going for walks near that body of water while it's still frozen. Doucette says he's forever grateful to the Charlton Fire Department.
"I can't say enough great things about what they did," he said. "Those guys really laid it out on the line and went out and got my dog."
