Deputy Rescues Senior Dog Found ‘Almost Frozen to Death’ in Ditch

A senior dog who almost froze to death in a ditch has been reunited with her family thanks to a diligent deputy from the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office in Maine, USA.

On the evening of February 25, Deputy Mark Anderson responded to a report of a dog laying in the road. He went to the street but initially couldn’t find the dog. But he continued to search as the outside temperature was in the “single digits.”

“After checking nearby ditches, he located a very cold, female dog, appearing almost frozen to death. There were claw marks where she had attempted to climb out of the ditch before her paw got too cold. She was holding her paw up and whimpering heavily when Deputy Anderson approached her,” the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office wrote of the incident on Facebook.

He immediately put her in his cruiser and drove to the dispatch center.

“The on-duty dispatchers immediately provided care,” the Facebook post from the sheriff’s office described. “She was bundled up in blankets and a portable heater was used to help warm her up. They fixed her a plate of food and once she warmed up and stopped shivering, she ate the plate clean.”

Exhausted from her ordeal, the dog fell asleep on the floor.

Deputy Anderson continued to help the dog, making lost dog flyers, distributing them in the neighborhood and knocking on doors, trying to locate the dog’s family.

“It wasn’t long and he figured out who the owner was. He learned the dog was at least 14 years old and was let outside around 9 PM the previous evening. When she didn’t return the owner, an elderly female, stayed up all night waiting for her dog to return,” the post continued.

Thankfully, there was a happy ending to this story and he dog was reunited with her owner. We’re sure that after such a scare the owner will take more care when letting her dog out!