So tragic.

From leesburg2day.com:
Buster, a yellow Labrador retriever, was rescued Tuesday afternoon, after having fallen into an icy pond in Ashburn. Animal Care and Control officers, fire and rescue personnel and sheriff's deputies received the call shortly before 3 p.m. reporting that two dogs had fallen into a frozen pond in Ashburn. By the time anyone arrived onsite, the second dog had drowned.

According to Loudoun County Animal Care and Control Director Tom Koenig, the two dogs had escaped through a hole in the fence of their Scara Place home in Ashburn. The dogs allegedly ran down to a nearby pond, which was covered with ice, and began walking on its surface before the ice collapsed beneath them.

"Bulldogs have a very low degree of floating. They can't swim very well," Koenig said.

The dogs' owner called authorities at 2:43 p.m. Animal control officers arrived on the scene at 3:03 p.m., Koenig said, at which point fire-rescue personnel were attempting to reach the Lab with a fire ladder and a large bucket while sheriff's deputies directed traffic.

Officer Mark Stacks, who-along with another officer-was dispatched from Animal Care and Control to the scene, said that when he arrived onsite, the bulldog had already disappeared beneath the water.

"[The other animal control officer] was trying to reach the dog from the bucket, but the ladder wasn't long enough," Stacks said, adding that he and his co-worker had begun inflating a rescue boat when an ice-rescue unit, which happened to be training nearby, arrived.

"[Fire-rescue] just happened to have a team that was doing an ice-water exercise in Ashburn that same day," Koenig said. "They came on scene and they already had their wet gear on. They were already ready to go."

Members of the ice-rescue unit waded into the icy water-about chest high in places, Stacks said-and fished Buster out of the pond. Buster was initially transported to Stream Valley Veterinary Hospital for treatment of hypothermia, but has since been released and returned to his family.

According to Fire and Rescue Services Public Information Officer Mary Maguire, the bulldog's body has not yet been found.

 

Those were my dogs. We loved our bulldog, Winston, very,very much. They found their way out through a loose fence slat. Please, if you have dogs, take a few minutes to check for loose slats on occasion. I wish we had.

Also, I have seen kids on and around that pond fairly frequently. Please remind your children to stay away from any of our neighborhood ponds without supervision, even when it is warm. The bank is very slippery and the bottom very thick mud. This particular pond is dangerous could be year round.

 

That is so sad drrotax. Please know that I will keep you and your family in my prayers.

Hope Buster is feeling well. I'm sure he misses his buddy.

 

my condolences drrotax- it's tragic to lose a pet. we have warned our son so many times that when we drive PAST an icy pond he says" i know mom- i could DIE if i walk across a frozen pond..."

we'll hug our puppy extra tight tonight while thinking of you and your family-

 

drrotax,

Our family read the story, and we were all saddened. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.