A dramatic TikTok video of a man attempting to save a dog that fell through the ice on Thanksgiving has been viewed over four million times.
In the video posted by Keirsten Slagle, her boyfriend can be seen topless and wading through the frozen water and breaking the ice with his fists until he reaches the struggling dog.
Slagle can be heard saying, “Oh don’t let her go under,” while another voice tries to reassure the dog, “It’s OK baby.” As Slagle’s boyfriend reaches the dog, he scoops her up and makes his way back through the ice.
In a later comment, Slagle reported that “his whole body was cut up.”
Getty Images/Andrey Kanyshev
According to the University of Minnesota’s Recreation and Water Safety Program, “In water that is around the freezing point, a person is likely to survive only 15 to 45 minutes with flotation and possibly up to an hour or so with flotation and protective gear before the brain and heart stop.”
The normal body temperature for a dog is warmer than for people, at around 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit, give or take a degree. Pet health website PetMD reports that if your dog’s temperature slips below 98 or 99 degrees Fahrenheit, hypothermia is setting in.
According to the pet resource website The Dog People, the most common signs of hypothermia in dogs include:
- Lethargy
- Shivering
- Still muscles
- Grey or pale gums
- Fixed or dilated pupils
If you suspect your dog to be suffering from hypothermia, PetMD recommends, “Dogs with hypothermia need to be rewarmed, but the process should occur gradually. Think “warm,” not “hot.” Do not use a heating pad, as it gives off excessive heat that can lead to burns, or it can direct too much blood flow towards the skin, which can worsen shock.”
TikTok users were full of praise for the rescue.
User USMARINE0311 wrote, “Total respect for that man. Thank you for being courageous saving that dog.”
User PizzaBabe said, “My body hurts watching him chop through the ice. What a HERO.”
User Brendo_licious commented, “Give this man the keys to the city.”
Newsweek has reached out to Slagle for comment.
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