CHERRY VALLEY TOWNSHIP — Rodger Dodger’s ears pricked forward and his hooves danced in the snow as Megan Stewart led him outside into the drizzle and slush Sunday afternoon.
The 19-year-old bay-colored horse barely noticed the rain as he pranced forward, looking for green grass in the hardscrabble winter landscape.
Dodger was feeling fine, owner Linda Johnston said, suffering nothing a bunch of blankets and towels couldn’t fix after he fell through the ice on a neighbor’s pond Saturday afternoon.
Johnston said she knew something wasn’t right when she saw the family’s pony, Sir Gilbert, standing alone on the ice at neighboring Emerine Estates Winery’s pond.
“Heavy snow had taken down the electric fence, so I went out to see if I could fix it,” she said. “I saw Gilbert on the ice, but I couldn’t see Dodger, and Dodger never, ever leaves Gilbert’s side.”
Gilbert was calling to Johnston, walking a few steps toward her, but always going back to the pond.
“Really, the pony led me to Dodger,” Johnston said. “But I was terrified when I saw Dodger in the pond. He had to have been in that pond for a half an hour before I found him.”
Johnston said she thinks Gilbert wandered out onto the ice and Dodger followed.
“We have a ditch in the pasture that Dodger won’t go over if it is frozen. I don’t think Dodger knew he was walking on ice. He just wanted to be near his pony,” she said.
The ice held for 400-pound Gilbert, but couldn’t stand the weight of 1,200-pound Dodger.
Wayne Township firefighters responded to Johnston’s frantic call Saturday and worked for two hours to rescue Dodger. Gilbert would not be led away from his trapped friend.
“I have to thank the firefighters,” Johnston said. “I am so grateful for them. They came out and got to work and they just kept telling me that it would be all right. I can’t say enough about how great they were during the whole thing.”
Johnston rescued Dodger from slaughter eight years ago, hoping for a calm horse for her grandchildren.
“He has been wonderful for the kids. We all love him so much,” she said.
Stewart said Dodger was weak after firefighters pulled him from the icy pond, and the family used every available blanket and towel to warm the horse.
“But he never missed a meal or anything,” she said. “We have antibiotics on hand and we monitored him every hour through the night, but Dodger seems to be just fine.”
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