MADISON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- In this frigid weather, a family's beloved golden retriever fell into a pond in Lackawanna County, sparking craziness, tears, then glee.
One of the dog's owners had to venture into the pond to save her dog before emergency responders arrived.
We were greeted by Buttercup just moments after she was pulled from an ice-cold pond. Still wet and shaking, she raised her paw to say "hello and welcome to my home," but we might not have ever met this adorable golden retriever if it weren't for one of her owner's heroic actions.
Buttercup is an 11-year-old golden retriever. With that innocent face and constant tail wag, you'd never guess what she went through early Monday morning.
"I was kind of, really, really scared, because she's old and I thought that she was going to die."
During a routine trip outside around 9:30 a.m., Buttercup ventured down to a pond on her family's property near Madisonville. Although it's been brutally cold of late, the ice on the pond hasn't thickened.
"I looked out the window, and I saw that she was on the ice. I was really scared because I thought she'd fall through the ice. Then I looked again, and she had fallen through the ice," Isabella Snyder recalled.
Isabella had a great vantage point of the pond from her second-story window. That's where she saw Buttercup in the water, so she threw on some boots, ran outside and down to the pond to make the rescue.
"She was able to break the ice with the broom that she had down there and put the leash around her neck and we pulled her out. The fire company got here right after, but everyone was OK, and Isabella and the dog are fine!" said her mother Christine Snyder.
"I knew that I had to go in because I knew she couldn't hold on much longer, so I was telling my mom, 'Mom, please let me go, please let me go,' and she was scared because she thought I was going to get hurt," Isabella said.
Disaster was averted because of the quick thinking and bravery of Isabella who had to brave the frigid elements.
"I'm glad it was a happy ending to an eventful morning," Christine added.
Emergency responders arrived just minutes after Bella pulled Buttercup out of the water. Buttercup had trouble walking briefly and had to get warmed up, but she's perfectly fine. Bella, on the other hand, may have lost a pair of boots in the process.