WASHINGTON — St. Bernard dogs have a history of making cold weather rescues as far back as the 1700’s in the Swiss Alps, but modern-day Milo recently needed rescuing from a frozen Fairfax County lake.
Milo and his grateful family reunited Friday with the Fairfax County Rescue teams who pulled him from the potentially deadly water.
“I’m just glad he’s doing fine,” said owner Mark Wortman. “I don’t know what life would be without him.”
The 120-pound, 5-year-old Saint Bernard fell through the ice of Woodglen Lake in Fairfax Station Jan. 22 during the beginning of the blizzard.
Milo is so big, rescuing him was similar to rescuing a person, but harder.
“Sometimes a person can follow directions and sometimes they can’t. But with a dog he’s just sitting there waiting for you,” said City of Fairfax Fire Department Master Technician David Busch, the lead rescuer on the ice.
Milo wasn’t cooperative. He shrugged off a rescue noose and wouldn’t allow Busch to put a flotation device on him. Finally Busch had to get in the water with Milo to free him.
“My suit has buoyancy in it and floats, so I acted as his flotation device,” Busch said.
Milo was quite subdued when first freed from the ice, but once he was dried off, warmed up and taken home in an ambulance with the heater blasting, he perked up considerably.
“He got out, ran up to the house, ran inside and started playing with the other dog [Gizmo] immediately,” Fairfax County Fire Department Lt. Michael Hendershot said with a smile.