Otto the dog safe after falling through Little Compton ice

Fire fighters used ice rescue equipment to free dog that fell through on Christmas day

By Ted Hayes
Posted 1/3/25

Otto the Dog is alive and well this New Year, after Little Compton fire fighters plucked it from Long Pond after it fell through the ice while chasing ducks on Christmas day.

Otto was taking a …

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Otto the dog safe after falling through Little Compton ice

Fire fighters used ice rescue equipment to free dog that fell through on Christmas day

Posted

Otto the Dog is alive and well this New Year, after Little Compton fire fighters plucked it from Long Pond after it fell through the ice while chasing ducks on Christmas day.

Otto was taking a walk with his owner Nancy Clark at around 3 p.m. when he ventured too far out on the thin ice and went through. He was about 30 yards from shore, and bystanders were unable to reach him though they tried getting the dog out with an inflatable raft. While they were trying, they 911.

Fire fighters Jason DaSilva, Matt Hughes and Bryan Dupere were enjoying their Christmas afternoons when they got the call, and rushed down to the pond with survival suits and ice rescue gear.

While Hughes ventured out on an ice sled and Dupere got in the water in his suit, DaSilva coordinated the effort from shore.

“The dog was very, very tired,” fire chief Richard Petrin said later. “They got him out , put him in the rescue and turned the heat on full blast. He was in the water for maybe 40 minutes or so; I don’t know how much longer he would have made it.”

Though department members train with their exposure suits and rescue sleds regularly, they haven’t had to use them on a rescue in more than a year — there wasn’t any ice last winter. But the kind they saw on Christmas — just thick enough to be dangerous — “that’s when you have a rescue,” the chief said.

After warming up Otto, fire fighters sent him on his way. But they saw him again Thursday, when Clark brought him by the station for a visit. While she was there she gave department members a batch of Christmas cookies, chocolate and peppermint.

“I’m afraid to try because I’m going to devour them,” the chief said.

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