Rowdy tries the ice

We had a pretty cold two weeks at the end of January. It was the first time I witnessed that amount of snow and ice and saw it last for more than a few days. The lake froze over and we even walked onto the lake carefully and it was solid. After a week or so the temps started raising above freezing and the snow and ice started to slowly turn into wet ground. Now that the roads were good it was time to take a trip into town for supplies. I drove the golf cart to the maintenance shop and heard Little Man, my mini-Ausie barking by the lake. There has been a family of otters that recently moved to the lake to eat the fish since they move slower in the cold. They normally reside in the river. I saw a little movement and assumed the otters had his attention. As I shut the door to the shop little man's bark seemed higher pitched so I looked down towards the lake again and could see a fat brown head bobble up from a hole in the ice. Dang Otters! The next glimpse I took I saw some type of slow doggy paddling, and it struck me that I hadn't seen Rowdy, my Boston Terrier since I had let him out. I jumped on the cart and went down halfway, and it was my dog struggling to swim in the ice-cold water! The lake was still frozen over but the temps had definitely caused the ice to be more fragile. He must have walked onto the frozen lake too see something and the ice gave way! I told Rowdy to hang in there, which seemed to give him hope, and I zoomed to get the shepherds hook from the pool area. I sped back but hook was too short for the distance he was, and I knew he needed help asap. I grabbed a kayak that was nearby all the while telling Rowdy I was coming! The ice was still thick at the shore, so I took the paddle and stabbed the ice to break it, but it was taking too long. I decided to use the kayak as a sled on the ice and dove stomach down on the kayak sliding it closer to where Rowdy was. I was a little short, so I had to break ice until I got to his circle of water. I will never forget the look on his face as I got close enough to grab him. He was desperate, he had given all he had left in those last 5 minutes before being rescued. I broke more ice to make my way back to shore with Rowdy shivering but safe. After getting dried off and warming back up, Rowdy stayed by my side as if to say thank you. Rowdy would never want to admit it, but Little Man saved him that day. Rivals since day one, those two dogs have never been pals. They tolerate each other at best. There were so many thoughts that ran through my mind after that. What if I had gone to town and not even looked that way? What was I supposed to take from that incident? I know Rowdy will not try and walk on ice anymore, and I am grateful everyone was at the right place at the right time for this time.