When Bryant Fritz went fishing in early November, he didn’t expect his biggest catch of the day to be a dog. Bryant Fritz who teaches middle school science at Next Generation school in Champaign, was preparing to fish saturday when he found Dory, a black and white female puppy, submerged in rising water and trapped inside of a dog crate in Kaufman Lake.
He first spotted the dog trapped in a crate dumped in Kaufman Lake in Champaign, Illinois. Just the dog’s head was above the freezing water. Being a lifelong dog lover, Fritz knew just what he had to do. He shed a few layers of clothing and waded into the frigid water to save the dog. Fritz said: ” It was about 3 pm when I saw the dog in the lake. Part of the crate was sticking out of the water. The puppy’s head was still above water, but the rest of her body was submerged.” Fritz said there was no hesitation in deciding to wade into the lake.
He said:” It was a cool and wintry day. I took off a couple of layers of sweaters and immediately waded into the water to reach the crate. I believes I waded a distance of between 15 and 20 yards into the lake before reaching the puppy. It was pretty clear the dog had been in the cold water for several hours. I immediately pulled her out of the water and dragged the crate to the shore. But, I then realized the dog had other medical issues. When I got her up to the shore, there was blood all over the place. she was missing a bunch of ꜰuron the back side, and the bottom of her paws were missing bad. she probably weighed 15 to 20 pounds, she was definitely a puppy. she was shaking so bad. Her eyes were shut. she was so miserable.”
Fritz immediately called the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital to alertthem he was bringing a dog who desperately needed treatment for hypothermia, visible wounds, and possibly more. On the way, he stopped at his house to wrap the puppy in a blanket ‘to get her as warm as possible.’ University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine spokeswoman Chris Beuoy noted the puppy has been responding favorably to treatment for hypothermia. The Hospital’s staff also cleaned the wounds and put her on antibiotics and pain medicine. Beuoy said:” We weren’t sure if the dog would need additional care for her wounds, but she received more treatment for her wounds on sunday.”
After Champaign County Animal Control takes custody of the pooch, Fritz hopes that he will be allowed to adopt her and give her a loving home. He said:” As I filled out the paperwork when I brought her to the Hospital, I realized I wanted this dog to be a part of my life. I and my girlfriend Krystal decided if all went well, we would name her Dory after the Disney character voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Nemo. And like Dory, ‘she didn’t quit in that water.’