Man stuck in frozen lake after trying to save a dog, then police appear for a miraculous rescue

Chicago Police Department shared a video on YouTube showing some officers getting a man out of the nearly-frozen Lake Michigan.

The man in the clip, who requested his identity to remain anonymous, was walking his nine-month-old American Eskimo mix at Lincoln Park on January 27. Unfortunately, the puppy ran to the freezing water and “disappeared.”

Pika, the dog, had little-to-no chances of surviving such low temperatures, so the man jumped in the water and got it out. However, he got stuck.

THE RESCUE

Some bystanders noticed the incident and quickly called 911. Soon later, emergency responders and Chicago Police agents arrived and, thanks to the body camera one of them had, the entire rescue was captured on camera.

First, the man grabbed a dog leash belonging to a bystander that the agent threw at the water. Then, he pulled the man out of the lake, who was clearly exhausted and in pain for being in freezing temperatures for a long time.

After a minute, when the man was able to walk again, the officers escorted him to a vehicle, where Pika was waiting for him. At the moment, both the man and the dog are in good condition.

THE MAN’S STATEMENT

Soon after the incident, the man released a statement thanking the officers for rescuing him, admitting he would be forever grateful to them.

“The first responders treated me and my dog in the ambulance and the emergency room. They allowed Pika to stay with me under the warming blanket in the ER. My core body temperature had dropped 93 degrees,” admitted the man.

As People reported, the temperature during the day of the incident was 9 Celsius. However, it has significantly dropped and, on January 31, it went down to -29 Celsius.

THE GOOD DEED OF AN UNKNOWN MAN

Speaking of cold temperatures, a group of homeless people in Chicago was living in a sort of encampment on the streets. Some people donated around 150 and 200 propane tanks to keep the homeless people warm.

Unfortunately, one of the cylinders exploded at the encampment as it was too close to a space heater. Even though nobody was hurt, the Chicago Fire Department confiscated the tanks and authorities made the people evacuate.

Salvation Army spokeswoman Jacqueline Rachev revealed that the officials informed them about the evacuation, so the organization was about to move the people to warming centers.

However, before they could start the process, a “Good Samaritan,” as people are referring to the unknown person, paid for rooms for 70 homeless people from that group.