Blue Friday spotlight: Officer Matt Schmidt’s icy rescue melts hearts

Pit bulls have a bad reputation for sure. But as I’ve pointed out for years, there is a much bigger problem among the owners of pit bulls and not the actual dogs.

Atlantic City officer answers call to help an abandoned pit bull

One afternoon last month, a dog in distress was found, and Atlantic City Police Officer Matt Schmidt responded to a call about a tan-and-white pit bull reportedly abandoned in a vacant lot near the Venice Park neighborhood.

On arrival, Officer Schmidt was met by Officer Lauren Downey, who informed Schmidt that the dog was limping and had a concerning amount of redness on his skin. The officers contacted Animal Control, who arrived quickly and tried to capture the canine using a loop of a flex pole used to train K9s. The dog was too elusive for them and was able to get away through a hole in the fence with the loop still around his neck.

Cold bay rescue: Officer dives in to save a drowning dog

Officer Schmidt gave pursuit and was able to corner the dog at a lot near the bay, but the animal jumped into the bay and swam away from shore. Fearing for the animal’s safety, Officer Schmidt secured his weapon and uniform with Officer Downey and plunged into the cold waters to save the dog.

After several minutes of enduring the chilly bay waters, Officer Schmidt used another flex pole and was able to get the loop around the dog and pull it in and get it to shore. Animal Control officers were waiting at the shore, and they took the canine to the Atlantic County Animal Shelter, where it was treated. The dog was considered in good health according to official reports.

Blue Friday honors Officer Matt Schmidt’s heroic act

Thank you to Officer Matt Schmidt for facing the chilly waters and taking the risk, and making the effort to save man's best friend. He is our Blue Friday honoree for this week.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own.

Report a correction 👈

FOLLOW BILL: Join the Bill Spadea's New Jersey channel on our Facebook page.