Labrador retriever recovers after brush with icy death

By Todd Feathers, Globe Correspondent

Veterinarians brought a young Labrador retriever named Grit back from the brink of freezing to death, after she was trapped in icy water in the town of Acton for what could have been several hours.

Dr. Janice Bernhart, one of the Acton Animal Emergency Care Center veterinarians who saved the two-year-old dog, said Grit was near death and having seizures when she was brought to the center around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“She was very cold, very wet,” Bernhart said. “I think she didn’t have a lot longer before we would have lost her.”

Grit’s owners said the dog had gone missing around noon, Bernhart said. The owners said she had fallen through the ice into water that was shallow enough for her to stand in, but she was trapped there by the ice.

Relatives of Grit’s owners had to bring the dog to the Animal Emergency Care Center, Bernhart said, because the owners had gone into the icy water after the dog and were being attended to at their home by emergency personnel.

When Grit arrived at the center, veterinarians immediately dried her off and smothered her in warm blankets to raise her body temperature, Bernhart said. Bernhart gave Grit sugary fluids to raise her blood sugar level and stop the seizures.

Grit made a full recovery and the veterinarian expects Grit to feel no lasting effects from the close call, except, Bernhart hopes, a healthy fear of thin ice.

“Her owners said she loves water, and she is a Labrador, but hopefully she doesn’t get into this situation again,” Bernhart said.