Dog rescued after falling through ice

BERNE — “Rescued dog” took on new meaning on Jan. 27.

Two dogs had fallen through the ice on Thompsons Lake on that Friday, and Environmental Conservation Officer Michael Hamelin responded to the call, according to a release from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, which said events unfolded this way:

One of the dogs had freed itself from the water while the other, a German shepherd, was trapped in the broken ice.

Hamelin, who is a member of the state’s Flood Incident Strike Team, a multi-agency team trained in swift water, ice, and rope rescues, put on water-rescue gear and entered the frigid waters.

He pulled the shepherd from the freezing waters and then Albany County Sheriff’s deputies returned the dog to its owners. 

New York State Park Police and the East Berne fire Department also helped in the rescue.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer

More Hilltowns News

  • Nadia Raza has decided to close Joe’s Tavern, opting out of the property’s rent-to-own contract amid a cancer battle. However, she plans on reopening the much beloved Curry Patta wherever she can find a location. 

  • Westerlo Supervisor Matt Kryzak is unhappy that the headquarters of the Westerlo Rescue Squad, which ceased operations at the end of 2019 but hasn’t yet officially dissolved as an organization, is being used by its membership for storage of personal vehicles instead of something that could benefit the town. 

  • In a letter to the Westerlo Town Board this week, the town’s planning board chairman, Beau Loendorf, requested that the planning board be allowed oversight of the new firehouse project sought by the local volunteer fire department, which is believed to be immune to local zoning. 

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