Dog rescued from frozen Zebulon pond

“It was really scary and I was like crying, and I was really sad,” the 12-year-old said. “And I was afraid.”

Schug and her friend were sledding near an ice-covered pond in Zebulon when the 8-year-old dog walked onto the ice, then fell in.

“I panicked,” Schug said. “We were calling him.”

Schug went and got her mother, Laura, who used a sled in an attempt to reach the dog.

But then she, too, fell into the frigid water.

The ice broke underneath her.

“When I fell in myself and was trying to roll out of the ice, it locked up my lungs,” Laura Schug said.

Wake County deputies, paramedics and Zebulon firefighters were called in. With the freezing water, there was no time to wait for a boat. So they tied a few ladders together, attached life vests to the end of their contraption and extended it to Brody.

“The dog was about 30 feet out into the water,” Zebulon Fire Chief Chris Perry said. “(The ladders were) to maybe give the dog something to climb on to or grab hold of, whatever they could to get the dog to come in to us.”

From shore, rescuers also used poles to break up the ice, creating a path for Brody to reach the ladders.

“I luckily was in the ambulance, because I would have been having a heart attack,” Laura Schug said. “I was already hysterical.”

Laura Schug admitted that going into the water, given the temperature, was not a good idea. But rescuers say the good news is that no children entered the water. They added that while ponds may appear to be frozen solid, they’re not safe to walk on.

Perry is glad this rescue has a happy ending.

“It was a sense of relief that came over everybody to see him safe,” he said.