'We'd do anything for our pets': B.C. man rescues dog from frozen lake

A dog named Kato in Prince George, B.C., has a new lease on life after his owner jumped in to action to save him when he fell through a sheet of ice.

Brian Skakun and his husky-malamute cross often go on wilderness hikes together. On Saturday, a beautiful sunny day, the pair was walking along the trails with Skakun's son by the Fraser River when things went wrong.

Kato—who hates water—walked out onto a piece ice on the riverbank and fell through.

The dog was now stuck in near-freezing water with his head barely above the surface, clinging on to the ice sheet with his front paws.

“He was completely soaked and crying out for help,” Skakun recalls.

“There’s no way I could even imagine life without him,” the Prince George city councillor told CTV News. “I just thought I have to do everything I could to try and safe him.”

Thinking quickly, Skakun grabbed two logs to distribute his weight evenly across the ice. Then he shuffled across the ice on his knees, and pulled Kato out.

He says the rescue took about 15 minutes, and he felt like Kato wouldn’t be able to hold on for long. “I couldn’t believe what I saw; I was just terrified,” Skakun added.

He noted that he doesn’t recommend other people do what he did, unless they’re sure how to support themselves on the ice.

In addition, Skakun says he won’t be taking Kato back to that area, and cautioned others not to take their pets near water or on lakes until the ice is completely melted.

Once Kato was safely back at shore, Skakun says the dog was super affectionate and wouldn’t leave his owner’s side.

“I think he knew that things had come pretty close for him,” he said.

“I’m just so grateful, ‘cause he’s my buddy and we’d do anything for our pets.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Kevin Charach