News
February 28, 2021
Watch your dogs around frozen pools

ATexas man is warning pet owners to keep an eye on their dogs after his own dog fell through the ice of his frozen swimming pool.

Dan Holmes of Southlake, Texas, posted a video of the incident on his Facebook page, showing his Australian Shepherd falling through the ice covering his backyard pool and getting stuck. Fortunately, Holmes was nearby and was able to come to the dog’s rescue.

The video shows Holmes sweeping snow in his backyard while his two dogs play near the pool.

Both of Holmes’ dogs, Christi and Colbi, are seen walking around the frozen pool when Christi ventures out onto the surface of the ice, approaches a thinner patch of ice and suddenly plunges into the water.

'I was cleaning snow away from the windows when my wife starts screaming all of a sudden and I turned around and saw Christi hanging onto the ice,' Holmes said.

Holmes said his 7-year-old Australian shepherd is a water dog and is used to getting in and out of the pool on her own, and the pool’s new appearance awoke her curiosity.

'I was petrified. I didn’t really know what to do. I went to the side and she was at the middle, and I couldn’t get to her, so I put my hand down and fell in and rolled over and grabbed her and pulled her out as fast as I could,' Holmes said.

Both made it out of the frozen pool.

'We wanted to share this video as a reminder to just watch your pets,' Holmes said.

Holmes said he went to check on his pool Tuesday morning and, like many pools in Texas, it has since frozen solid, so he isn’t worried the incident will happen twice, but he will be keeping a very close eye on his dogs.

'Warning, if you have pets be careful. Watch this video, thank goodness I was out near the pool,' Holmes’ Facebook post read.

Southlake is located just northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. This February, the City experienced temperature highs in the mid-20s to low-30s, which plummeted into the teens and single digits when the winter storm hit North Texas and surrounding areas.

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