Just a few days before Christmas, UPS driver Ryan Arens was out on his route in Bozeman, Montana, when he heard a puppy in need. He followed the yelping through the darkness to a neighboring pond, where he discovered the dog trapped on the ice. Ryan told the Tribune, “I could see the dog trapped about 10-15 feet off the shore, with ice all around it.”
A man in a rowboat was also there, but he was having trouble getting out to the dog. So Ryan stripped down to his boxers and slid the boat out into the ice. He swam to the dog who was about to plunge under when he reached the thin ice where he went through.
Ryan grabbed Sadie and swam to the thicker ice, where he was able to pull himself out of the water and bring the dog to safety. Ryan went to take a hot shower before finishing his route when animal control and the local sheriff department had arrived!
Sadie survived with serious injuries, while Ryan was safe aside a few scratches and cold shock. He’d do it all over again in a heartbeat, though.
“Animals are my weakness,” he said to the Tribune. “It was the most memorable moment of my 14-year UPS career.”
While on a delivery, he ran across Sadie, a two-year-old Wirehaired Pointing Griffon who knew her hero and welcomed him with joy!
