Schenectady Firefighters Rescue Dog from Central Park Lake

A poodle got loose and ended up in Iroquois Lake in Central Park, Schenectady on Wednesday morning. Thankfully, local firefighters were there to save a life.

Wednesday morning, Schenectady firefighters responded to a call to a dog in distress. When they finally got there, they found a dog struggling to stay above water. The dog was paddling but looked like it was getting tired.

Schenectady Firefighters Christopher McCabe and Anthony Catalfamo hooked up a rescue system and walked out to the chest-deep water to save the dog, according to the Daily Gazette. Once they got the dog, who they found out is named Victor, out of the water, the dog's owner took him to a vet to get checked out.

There's no word on how the dog got in the water but they suspect the owner tied the dog up to a garbage can and it got loose. The owner reached out to Head to Tail on Union Street for help to try to lure the dog but were unsuccessful. One of the employees went into the water before the firefighters got there but it was too cold to withstand.

The water was particularly dangerous because the temperatures are still very low. They were unsure how long the dog was swimming in the water and the firefighters needed to be careful to avoid muscle cramps. After getting checked out, it looks like Victor is doing fine and hopefully won't make any more unexpected swims in the lake (at least not until the water is warmer).