Chorley dog Bobby makes full recovery after rescue from frozen Yarrow Valley lake

Fire crews were called to Yarrow Valley Country Park, off Birkacre Road in Chorley, after the English Springer Spaniel ran into the middle of a frozen lake on Sunday afternoon (Sunday, January 3).

His owner, Cat Walton, said an excitable Bobby had dashed across the frozen lake after ducks, before the ice cracked and gave way beneath his paws.

Terrified and powerless to help him, Cat was forced to watch her beloved Springer Spaniel struggle in the freezing water for more than 30 minutes, before fire crews came to his rescue.

Firefighters were able to pull a shivering Bobby out of the icy water and brought him safely to shore on an inflatable sled, to the relief of his panic-stricken owner.

Bobby was then rushed to Hillcrest Animal Hospital in Chorley where he was treated by the emergency weekend team.

A spokesman for Hillcrest Animal Hospital said: "We are happy to report that Bobby, the English Springer Spaniel who ran into an icy situation at Yarrow Valley is doing well.

"Some of you may have seen the fantastic work from our local rescue men yesterday after little Bobby accidentally found himself submerged in icy water.

"He was rushed to our Chorley hospital and treated by our emergency weekend team, our veterinary surgeons Heather and Megan and veterinary nurse Michelle performed emergency care and nursed him back to a safe body temperature.

"As you can see from the pictures the day after, Bobby is doing well and excited to go home."

His grateful owner, Cat Walton, from Chorley, said: "I can’t thank you enough for taking him in out of hours and caring for him.

"As soon as his collar snapped off, he ran across the icy lake after ducks (his favourite sport) and unfortunately it cracked.

"Watching him for over 30 minutes struggling broke my heart and we are so lucky to have him home safe and well.

"I’m so glad he’s overdue a groom because the extra coat he had on kept him warm.

"I’d like to thank everyone who was involved and who helped break ice, rescue him and cared for him. I'll be forever thankful."

Following the hour-long rescue mission, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service issued a reminder to dog owners to keep their pets on leads around frozen bodies of water.

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