LAKEVILLE — Efforts to rescue a dog that fell through ice on a pond at the end of Plymouth Street were unsuccessful, prompting a reminder from The Lakeville Fire Department about unsafe ice conditions. 

The department received a call about 8 a.m. Thursday,, Dec. 29 for a dog that went through the ice. When Lakeville Fire Chief Michael O’Brien responded first to the scene, he saw a dog that had fallen through the ice about 600 feet from shore. Bystanders attempted to rescue the dog, but their efforts were stopped, O’Brien said.

Arriving firefighters were deployed on a rescue sled in an attempt to rescue the dog. The thin ice gave way multiple times, preventing the rescuers from advancing quickly out to the dog, O’Brien wrote.

A firefighter eventually advanced within 50 feet of the dog’s location, despite the difficult conditions. During this last attempt, the exhausted dog had submerged under the ice, O’Brien said. 

At that time, O’Brien made “the difficult decision to cease rescue operations and pull the struggling rescuer back to shore.’’ The last rescuer was off the ice by 8:45 a.m., he said.

”The most difficult decision made today was the determination of what is a reasonable and appropriate level of risk to save an animal. The tactics that were used today minimized risk to responders and did not approach what would have been employed for a person,’’ O’Brien wrote.

Ice conditions and the distance from shore were the determining factors in the outcome of this call, he said. “As is always the case, the department will review performance and identify our deficiencies,’’ he wrote, and training and resources will be focused on continuing to improve services.

”I would like to thank the firefighters for their efforts today. On behalf of the department, I would like to extend our condolences to the family of the dog. While we are grateful that no person was injured today, we are also very saddened by the loss of the dog,’’ he wrote.

O’Brien reminded the public that ponds are not currently safe. 

“Maybe today’s incident will remind people to use caution around the ice, and maybe some positive will come from the loss of this pet,’’ he wrote.