Family thanks first responders who saved dog from pond

Lawrenceburg family thanks deputy who saved dog

(LAWRENCEBURG, Ind.) – A Lawrenceburg family is taking time to thank members of two first responder agencies. 

Their dog walked onto an icy pond and broke through the ice on January 22. 

The dog was unable to get himself out and the family called 9-1-1. 

Dearborn County Water Rescue was deployed to the home which is on Scenic Drive. 

Dearborn County Deputy Richie Lay happened to be in the area and also decided to go to the house to see if he could help. 

Deputy Lay saw the dog go under the water and grabbed a “throw bag” from his vehicle,  fashioned a lasso, and went into the water and was able to bring the dog to safety. 

The family was beyond thankful and reached out to Dearborn County Water Rescue to express their gratitude. 

The homeowner spoke with Meghan Keith, who is a captain at the agency, and said he was not aware that Dearborn County had a water rescue agency.

“He profusely thanked me, not for responding, but for being on a water rescue team that is willing to go do rescues of not only people, but family pets as well,” Keith told The 812. 

The man said if first responders did not go to the home, the dog would have likely not survived. 

“He explained that he and his family love their pets as family members, and had no one showed up, they would have been devastated,” Keith told The 812. 

Keith recalls how the man continued to thank her but she said the person who needs to be thanked is Deputy Lay. 

“He wanted to come down, meet Deputy Lay, and see the equipment we had in our building,” she said. 

Deputy Lay meets dog he saved

The man and his daughter stopped by the agency this week and brought their dog as well. 

“Deputy Lay showed the family how he made the lasso from a throw bag, and asked if I had an extra one to give to them. We pulled one from one of our boats, and handed it over gladly,” Keith said. 

It was an opportunity for the family to appropriately thank the two first responder agencies while learning about life-saving rescue skills if the event happens again. 

“He wanted to thank us and explain that it was fate that the events of that day went the way they did,” she said. 

Keith also said a successful animal rescue on the ice is a rare event. She’s been on the water rescue team for 12 years and she can only recall two successful ones. 

“It's not very often that a family wants the success story shared with everyone involved. They truly wanted to recognize all the individuals who were willing to risk their lives for their beloved dog,” she said, 

She laughed, “His owner showed us a video of him diving into pools and swimming so I gave him an application for the team.”

Learn more about Dearborn County Water Rescue by clicking here.