There's a report of a dog falling through the ice in the area of 5420 Horseshoe Lake Road, Stafford.
Stafford fire is responding.
UPDATE 1:36 p.m.: The city's Water Rescue team is called to provide mutual aid.
UPDATE 1:46 p.m.: A source on scene says the dog has been in the water for about 15 minutes. It was last seen about 100 yards from the shoreline in the icy pond. It is no longer visible. The owner is not known.
UPDATE 1:57 p.m.: Rescuers made contact with another witness who reported the animal that went in the water was not a canine. The witness, Mike Mullen, retired City of Batavia fireman, subsequently told The Batavian that it was a river otter, and the witness said he watched it for a while. The otter had captured a fish that was as large as the otter itself. The otter proceeded to eat the fish, sometimes diving in the water with the fish, coming back out, and gnawing on it some more. "If you didn't have binoculars, it might look like a dog struggling in the water," Mullen said.
UPDATE: Photo by Mike Mullen. We have a video interview with Mullen we'll post later.
