A dog that fell into the lake on a recent cold night ended up being warmed by the compassion and care of the community.
The dog had been wandering around in the yard in the dark at Pete and Fran Mattix’s house on Lake Sinclair around 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, according to a social media post.
Fran Mattix heard a splash and realized the dog had fallen into the lake and, upon investigation, discovered it couldn’t get out by itself. Pete Mattix, who is the pastor of Lake Country Baptist Church, said on his social media post that he spent about 15 minutes trying to pull the dog out of the water.
“But she was terrified and shivering and I was afraid she would bite,” Mattix said of the dog that was unfamiliar to him and his wife.
The temperature that night was in the mid-40s, according to AccuWeather; and, because his wife was “absolutely beside herself watching this dog struggle as it stayed right up against the seawall in the cold water,” Mattix said he called Putnam County 911.
Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Barbee just happened to be on his way home from working a ballgame and was very near the Mattix residence when he heard the radio dispatch. Barbee said he stopped and got a rope from his vehicle, which he wrapped around the dog.
“And the dog catcher with Putnam County Animal Services was nearby and she came, and I helped her pull it out of the water,” Barbee said.
The animal services rescue worker was Amber Hardie, who has named the dog “Merry” because she is so sweet and was rescued during the Christmas season, said Christine Tillman, director of Putnam County Animal Services.
The female bulldog mix is “doing fine” and is on a “seven-day hold” waiting for her unknown owners to claim her, Tillman said Tuesday.
“She’s just the sweetest dog, and we’re so glad it wasn’t freezing temperatures like it had been a couple of days earlier,” Tillman said. “If no one comes to claim her, she’ll be available for adoption next week.”