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On Jan. 16, 1994, Westchester County shivered, with the mercury stuck at 2 below in White Plains. There was snow in the forecast: 3 to 5 inches in Westchester, more in Putnam.
It wasn’t fit for man nor beast, least of all a stray German shepherd mix who found himself stranded on the frozen Hudson River off Hastings for more than a day.
The dog, who earned the nickname “Hudson,” didn’t respond to calls to leave the frozen river and at one point found himself riding an ice floe up from Yonkers. It took a New York City Police Department helicopter to shepherd the shepherd to safety, its thwopping blades coaxing the canine toward shore, with Yonkers Emergency Services and police from Hastings and Yonkers lending a hand.
First spotted on the ice near JFK Marina, the dog found himself on an ice floe that drifted north. Eagle-eyed 911 callers reported the dog pacing from side to side on the sheet of ice, keeping from the edge and the frigid waters below. The rescue attracted hardy onlookers, who cheered when the copter’s coaxing led Hudson into the arms of Yonkers Emergency Services officer Phil Collins.
Hudson was taken to the Pioneer Boat Club clubhouse where he was wrapped in a wool blanket and fed.
Dr. Cindy Wasserman, the veterinarian who examined the recovered pooch, proclaimed the canine in fine shape, all things considered, with no evidence of exposure despite 24 hours spent in the bitter cold.
Reach Peter D. Kramer at pkramer@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Photos of Yonkers NY police rescuing dog from Hudson River ice in 1994
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