It was a long, cold night for Duke, a 16-month-old St. Bernard who froze to the ice on a pond at the Peter Yegen Jr. Golf Club.

Rescuers believe that Duke fell though the ice on the pond on the northwest side of the golf course sometime during the night but was able to pull himself out. Once the wet dog sat on the ice, his furry, water-logged tail froze to the ice, leaving him unable to move.

Two firefighters in dry suits pushed an ice rescue sled over about 10 feet of hip-deep water and 10 feet of ice to reach Duke, who was shivering and occasionally whining.

After trying to free the tail with water and a crowbar-like Haligan tool, firefighter Brandon Fleury broke the ice around Duke's tail with a mallet while firefighter Ben Jares held onto the dog by his collar.

It took four firefighters - one just to hold up the tail with the large chunk of ice attached - to lift the 118-pound dog into a waiting golf cart.

He's my little buddy," Larson said, before correcting himself. "He's my big buddy