Sparta police officer risks his life to save dogs trapped in frozen NJ lake

One minute, your dogs are in the backyard playing and barking, the next, they've gone running before you even know they've left the yard.

On a cold, cold day recently, two dogs decided to explore the surface of a frozen lake in Sparta.

Unfortunately, as we've been saying for a while, you can't trust the ice as it is at different levels of thickness throughout, and one thin spot — boom! — you're in the drink.

When a concerned citizen called the police after seeing two dogs walking across the lake, Patrolman Michael Poon from the Sparta PD arrived on the scene right after one of the dogs fell through and was plunged into the freezing waters.

Without hesitation or regard for his own safety, the patrolman quickly gathered ice rescue gear and made his way across the ice and into the water to rescue the hound.

Poon was able to get a hold of the dog and push the canine up onto the ice and out of the freezing water.

Thankfully, because of the heroic effort of Sparta Patrolman Michael Poon, 10-year-old Lab, Sunkiss and 4-year-old Bruno are safely back with their owner.

Owner Chance Dobbs was grateful and had this to say about Patrolman Poon and the Sparta Police Department:

"I can't thank them enough for their training and being unsung and many times being unappreciated heroes looking over our community,."

Thank you, Patrolman Poon, and thank you to all of our hero law enforcement members across New Jersey.

Merry Christmas!

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.

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