WATCH: First Responders Rescue Labradoodle from Ice Floe on Detroit River

Officers with the Wyandotte Police Department were the first to arrive on scene when Lucy was some 40-50 feet from shore, Hamilton said. While they debated whether to notify the Coast Guard or venture into the frigid waters themselves, the Wyandotte Fire Department arrived, and firefighters devised a strategy to rescue Lucy, Hamilton added.

First responders were able to “nudge” the floe towards the shore, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The WPD’s video of the rescue shows a firefighter, identified by the Free Press as Derrek Azzopardi, standing on a ladder and reaching a “catchpole” out to Lucy as she lay on the ice sheet. The cooperative pup raises her head and allows the catchpole to be placed around her neck. Azzopardi then leads the labradoodle into the water before securing her and carrying her up the ladder to safety.

“It had such a happy outcome,”  Assistant Fire Chief Tom Lyon told the Free Press. “She just had those big brown eyes, and she couldn’t talk, but she probably was just so grateful.”

Lyon praised the neighbors for notifying authorities rather than attempting to save Lucy themselves. 

“It’s a dog, and a member of the family,” Lyon told the outlet. “But it would be even more tragic if someone lost their life trying to save it.”