A dog named Ruby helped a state police trooper rescue a Traverse City man who fell through the ice on a northern Michigan lake Thursday, officials said.
Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Officer Kammeron Bennetts responded to an 11:45 a.m. call about a 65-year-old man who had fallen through the ice on Arbutus Lake in East Bay Township. The township is about nine miles southeast of Traverse City.
Police said bystanders on the shore called 911 after they saw the man fall through the ice.
Bennetts arrived at the scene, grabbed a throwable water rescue device with an attached rope from his vehicle and went onto the ice, according to authorities. He saw the man in the water and a dog on the ice near him.
Due to ice conditions, Bennetts could not reach the man, officials said.
The officer asked the man to send his dog, Ruby, over to him. Ruby obeyed the command and Bennetts attached the rescue device to her collar. He then asked the man to call for Ruby.
Police said she ran back to her owner with the device. Bennetts then instructed the man to take the device from Ruby’s collar and to kick his legs.
A firefighter with the Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department who had also heard the call about the man in the freezing water responded and helped Bennetts pull him to safety, authorities said.
The man was in the water for about 16 minutes.
Medics took him to a hospital, where he was treated and released.
“The quick actions of MCO Bennetts along with the help from Ruby, they were able to perform a successful ice rescue,” officials said in a statement.
State police also released footage of the rescue captured by the officer’s body camera.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
Grand Traverse County: Body-cam footage captures daring ice rescue by MSP Motor Carrier Officer Kammeron Bennetts with the help of the victim’s dog Ruby. Great team work and well done! https://t.co/uTblTv3bhV pic.twitter.com/NDKKHZnysu
— MSP Seventh District (@mspnorthernmi) January 18, 2024