Caught on video: Hero NJ cop rescues drowning dog from freezing lake

💦 A dog chasing geese fell through the ice of a NJ lake

💦 A hero police officer rescued the drowning pooch

💦 The dog is going to be okay

HAZLET — The dramatic rescue of a drowning dog who fell through the thin ice on a Monmouth County lake while chasing geese was caught on camera.

Hazlet police received a frantic call just before 10 a.m. Tuesday about a dog stuck in the lake at Veterans Park.

Even though it was a balmy 43 degrees in Hazlet at the time of the incident, the lake still had a thin sheet of ice and the dog was struggling to make it back to shore, according to the department’s Facebook page.

Patrolman Doug Centrone, who was on duty at the time, sprang into action to help the purebred border collie, named Taffy.

Centrone, who is a part of the Maritime Emergency Response Team is well-trained on how to navigate these types of situations, the social media post reads.

He put on his gear and carefully navigated across the ice to Taffy. The video shows the dog floating in the middle of the lake, trying to swim away. Centrone lifted her up onto the ice, where she was able to carefully walk back to shore.

In the video, you can see Taffy doing her “little walk of shame” before stumbling a bit at the lake’s edge, and then getting back on land. She was immediately covered in blankets and put in a car to warm up.

Taffy’s owner told police she tripped and lost the dog’s leash when Taffy went to chase a goose on the ice, something that a purebred border collie is inclined to do.

In fact, Taffy is one of the trained border collies with Geese Chasing, a company that specializes in the human removal of geese, News 12 New Jersey reported.

The Hazlet Township Police Department commended Centrone for his quick actions and proving it’s important to help out all in need, even canines.

Centrone told News 12 he was glad it was a happy outcome.

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