FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - Tuesday night in Franklin County, the Smith Mountain Lake Marine Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department saved the life of a dog from the waters of the frozen lake.

Chief Todd Ohlerich said his department got a call reporting a dog had fallen through the ice about 800 feet across the lake from the Horseshoe Bend Campground around 5:30 p.m.

“We’ve had a few dog rescues. This one was the first on ice, we’ve had others that get caught on rocks and stuff from swimming during the summer months, but this was the first on ice,” said Ohlerich, Chief of the Smith Mountain Lake Marine Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.

When his team arrived, Ohlerich put on a dry suit and got into a kayak to begin pushing his way across the frozen lake with a paddle.

“It was a lot more difficult than it looked. The ice was frozen, but the kayak on top of the ice didn’t glide quite as well as one would expect,” he said.

The dog had been in the water for 30-40 minutes when Ohlerich reached him.

“He was just holding on and barking to let everybody know he was still there. So I paddled over and got over to the dog, his name was Jessie, I got ahold of Jessie and was able to get him out of the water. He was about a 100-pound dog,” said Ohlerich.

Once Jessie was lifted out of the water he was able to walk back across the frozen lake to shore. He was then taken inside by people living at the campground and was able to be dried off and warmed up. Ohlerich commended the people there for how they handled the situation.

“The individuals that live in the area did the absolute right thing not going out onto the ice. You never know how thick the ice is and whether it will be able to hold you or not, so it’s best not to do that. It wasn’t until we got here that we could take the appropriate precautions to go out there,” said Ohlerich.

Ohlerich said anyone who falls through ice into freezing water should get into a heated environment and wrap themselves up to warm up. He said you may need to call 911 if you were in the water for an extended period of time.