Coast Guard Rescues KC the Dog from the Ice of Lake St. Clair, 2014

In early March 2014 the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay spotted a lone dog lying on the frozen surface of Lake St. Clair, about four miles from shore. The old dog had been missing for more than a week, and the icebreaker’s crew brought him aboard, warmed him up and fed him, a rescue that ended with a reunion in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

The rescue of KC on Lake St. Clair

“He was in the middle of nowhere, and couldn’t walk when we got to him,” Coast Guard food service specialist Brian Essler told CBS Detroit. The dog’s paws were badly hurt: he had been digging into the snow and ice to build himself a windbreak against the wind sweeping across the lake.

The crew pulled him aboard and gave him first aid. Once inside, he was fed meat and spent the night in the chief’s quarters. Not knowing his name, the sailors called him “Lucky” and “Cutter”, and he was then handed over to an area animal shelter for care.

KC goes home to St. Clair Shores

News of the rescue quickly reached his family. The dog was KC, a 14-year-old who had run away on 23 February, and his owner, Jodi Benchich of St. Clair Shores, collected him from the shelter. KC had frostbite on his paws and had lost a lot of weight, but he was recovering well. Benchich said he was “happy to be back home and is eating everything we give him.”

Lake St. Clair and the icebreaker Bristol Bay

Lake St. Clair covers about 1,114 km² (430 square miles) between Michigan and Ontario. It links Lake Huron, via the St. Clair River, to Lake Erie, via the Detroit River, and it is remarkably shallow, with an average depth of only about 3.4 m (11 ft). The winter of 2013–14 brought intense ice cover to the region, and several dramatic animal rescues with it.

The Bristol Bay is a 140-foot (42.7 m) Bay-class icebreaking tug, commissioned in 1979 and based in Detroit. Its main job is domestic icebreaking, helped by a bubbler system that pumps air and water between the hull and the ice to reduce friction. Since 1991 it has also worked with a special barge to service more than 160 navigation aids each year.

Pets and frozen lakes: what to do

Lake ice is never uniform: currents, inflowing rivers, pressure ridges and snow cover all create weak spots that are invisible from the shore. If a pet runs onto the ice, call it back from solid ground and phone the emergency services, who have the suits, sleds and training for ice rescues. Keep dogs on a lead near frozen water especially in late winter as the ice weakens.

For other stories from the ice, read Lady’s Icy-Water Rescue in Louisville: Why the Full Account Matters, A Coast Guard Rescue of a Labrador from Icy Michigan Water and, for a happier dog-in-the-snow tale, Akiak and Norway: A Husky in an Adventure Photo Diary.

Related reading

• Conservation Officers Rescue a Deer from Duck Lake Near Kelowna
• Hovercraft Deer Rescue on Albert Lea Lake
• A Helicopter Helps a Deer Stranded on Ice
• A Moose in the Ice: The Loon Lake Rescue
• People Helping Animals: Separate Rescues in One Compilation

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