UPS Driver Saves Dog From Drowning In Icy Pond

January 19, 2019

A UPS driver braved an icy pond to rescue a young dog trapped in the ice.

Ryan Arens with Sadie

Ryan Arens was on his route in Bozeman, Montana, when he drove up to a house and heard a dog "screaming and crying and going crazy."

It was getting dark and he didn't see anything, so he drove to the other side of the pond.

"I could see the dog trapped about 10-15 feet off of shore, with ice all around it," he told the Great Falls Tribune.

An older man was in a rowboat on the pond trying chip away at the ice to reach the dog.

"I stripped to my boxers and got the guy out of the boat. Then, I slid the boat out onto the ice, using it to distribute my weight," Arens said. "I shimmed out to where the ice was thin."

Then he crashed through the ice, falling from the boat and into the 16-feet-deep water.

Since he was already wet, Arens said he swam for the dog.

"She was starting to go under," he said.

He grabbed her collar and swam for the ice, sliding the dog across the ice to shore. He pulled himself out of the water and a bystander handed him a blanket.

"We took the dog inside the older guy's house and got in the shower together to warm up," he said.

Arens and his dog Hara

Once the sheriff's department and animal control arrived, Arens finished his route delivering about 20 more packages.

Arens reaction to the story in the local news

Soon after the incident, Arens happened to have a package to deliver to the dog's owner. As he walked up, he saw the dog, whose name he learned is Sadie.

"She was freaking out, and when he let her out she ran to me," he said. "She must have remembered me. It sure made me feel good."

"Animals are my weakness," he added. "It was the highlight of my 14-year UPS career."