Good Samaritan Risks His Life To Save Pair Of Dogs In Icy Reservoir

A New York man and his trusty Golden Retriever pup are being touted as heroes after they jumped into action when a stranger’s two dogs fell through ice and became stranded in a reservoir.

Timofey Yuriev was walking his dog Kira at Irvington Nature Center when he noticed the pair of dogs crossing the ice and falling in. He thought about calling emergency services but knew it would be too late by the time help arrived—so he jumped in the water to save them, WABC-TV reported.

Posted by Melissa Kho on Saturday, March 9, 2019

“We heard a woman screaming,” Yuriev told CBS2. “The first fell in and then the second fell in. They tried to climb out but the ice was breaking and they couldn’t and after a little while they just stopped moving.”

His dog Kira joined the rescue, and together they broke through the ice to grab the first dog, and then returned for the second.

“Maybe she felt that these dogs were in distress,” Yuriev said to CBS2, of Kira. “She would go to each dog and round them up and touch them with her nose and it was sort of like taking them back.”

Yuriev’s wife Melissa Kho posted photos and videos of the incident to Facebook, calling it “amazing.”

Yuriev said that the owner of the labs initially tried to stop him, but “After I got thesecond dog she was crying ‘thank you.’”

He credits his stamina to his upbringing, explaining how he learned cold-water breathing techniques while learning to swim in Siberia as a kid. Yuriev explained that his grandfather had taught him about “a point you can push on your arm” to help initiate the calm.

“When I did the breathing technique, everything felt nice,” Yuriev said. “I felt a bit light-headed and I went for the second dog.”

h/t CBS2