It was a win for the ducks but not for the dog, said Greater Sudbury deputy fire chief Jesse Oshell.
He was commenting on a bit of canine misadventure that took place Saturday while the German Shepherd and its owner were out for a hike on the trails near Laurentian Lake.
"And it was ducks one - dogs zero. The dog was chasing some ducks out to an island on Lake Laurentian and either became tired or affected by the cold water obviously -- the water is still extremely cold -- and the dog was unable or unwilling to leave the island once it was there," said Oshell.
He said the dog's owner was not successful in convincing the dog to leave the island, likely because the water was just too cold.
"So we dispatched a crew single crew just to go out and retrieve the canine. So no immediate urgency, but the owner and dog were quite happy to be reunited," Oshell said. Also, as far as he was aware the animal was fine and no veterinary attention was required.
He said the rescue crew were able to use a zodiac-sytle RHIB boat to rescue the dog, which Oshell said is the perfect size and style of boat needed for the job.
