In a heroic act, a Vermont man leaped into freezing waters on Friday to rescue a dog struggling in the icy Winooski River, the New York Post reports.
Chris MacRitchie, accompanied by his family in Berlin, spotted the distressed dog while going through a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru. He quickly climbed down the embankment and entered the river to save the dog.
The courageous rescue was recorded by his son and widely shared online.
“It was one of those moments where you have to make a decision,” MacRitchie said. “I felt I was obligated to at least try to fetch this dog out of the river, as I have two dogs myself, and I would hope someone would do that for them if they were in that spot.”
The footage shows MacRitchie, dressed in a T-shirt and sweats, wading through the icy water as his wife encourages him. Despite the biting cold, his main concern was the river’s depth.
“I didn’t know if it was 20 feet or 2 feet,” he said. “When I broke through and it was waist-high, I thought, ‘OK, this isn’t that bad. Yeah, it’s cold, but I feel this is a very doable situation.’”
MacRitchie successfully pulled the shivering dog to safety, where his wife wrapped it in a sweatshirt. The dog’s owner, Morgan Cerasoli, was overwhelmed with gratitude when MacRitchie called her using the number on the dog’s tag.
Cerasoli, who had been searching for Arizona, her 7-year-old rescue mutt, since Thursday, described her reaction as emotional. “I started crying, and I told him, ‘Oh, my God, I love you,’” she said.
Now reunited with Arizona, who is recovering well, Cerasoli described the rescue as “brave, selfless, and commendable.” She added, “It’s everything we’re meant to be on this Earth.”
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