Heros rescue dog

NORWAY - At least the dog had an excuse for going out on the lake - since he couldn't read, he didn't know know about the advice in last week's Advertiser Democrat about staying off the ice.

But the dog in question was caught in the act of violating the laws of physics. That is, he was too heavy to stand and walk on the frozen water that had formed on Lake Pennesseewassee  As a result, he was suddenly swimming in the lake instead of running across it.

Lucky for the canine, some people were watching and if a dog is man's best friend, the watchers were up to returning the sentiment. Nick White and Brent Gammon, who work at White's Marina on Lake Road, were among the humans that noticed the Rottweiler struggling to climb back on the slippery surface, without luck.

As soon as they saw the dog's fight to live, they decided to help it, and hit on what might have been the only way to accomplish a rescue - they pushed a boat out onto the ice and as close as they could get to the critter before the ice broke, then they jumped in, and with muscle, paddles and sheer determination, turned the skiff into an icebreaker. After manhandling the craft a total of 500 feet from shore, they reached the shivering dog and gave him a ride back to shore.

It's doubtful that a dog was ever happier to be caught.

By the next day it's owner, Bruce Rowe, of Otisfield, appeared at the pond in Oxford to retrieve his lost pet, named Micah. He told Animal Control Officer Robert Larrabee, that the dog had bounded off while he was working the week before. He reported it missing, but it eluded the authorities until it went through the ice.

Rowe brought gifts of maple and blueberry syrup for White and Gammon, as tokens of his appreciation. Micah got his licks in with a warm tongue.