WATERVILLE — The dog rescued on Wednesday from Long Pond is doing well at the local shelter after spending more than 10 minutes in the frigid water.

“He’s doing fine. He’s eating, drinking, running around, acting like a normal dog,” Rebecca Labbe, adoption receptionist at Humane Society Waterville Area, said Thursday afternoon.

The male walker hound was found without a collar, and no one has claimed him, Labbe said.

Several bystanders rescued the dog after seeing him run across the ice and into the water around 100 to 200 feet offshore near the dock at Castle Island Camps in Belgrade.

After calling out for the dog to swim closer to the ice’s edge, an unidentified man slowly walked out with a tow line on the dock, tied into a noose to try to hook it around the dog, said Dawn Jacques, of Mount Vernon, who helped with the rescue.

The noose came apart when the man tried to get it around the dog, but he was able to grab a hold of one of its paws and pull the dog up onto the ice and push him to the shore.

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“We’ve had calls all day asking how he was doing,” Labbe said.

The shelter will hold the dog for seven days before putting him up for adoption.

Labbe said two people already have submitted applications to adopt the dog. Animals are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis, once the adopter has been cleared, she said.

“He’s out back getting lots of attention and food and love from the staff,” Labbe said.

Paul Koenig — 621-5663
pkoenig@mainetoday.com


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