Dog owner’s heartbreak after pooch chasing swans falls into frozen lake and dies

A heartbroken dog owner has opened up about the tragic moment her adored pooch plunged into a freezing cold lake and drowned in front of her eyes.

Jennifer MacLean from near Lochmaben, Dumfries and Galloway explained how she took her four-year-old Cockapoo on a walk near a loch, only for it to end in tragedy.

The Cockapoo, called Luke, went to chase swans on the frozen lake around lunchtime on January 9, but fell into the water to the horror of his owner.

Jennifer, 38, her husband Scott, 33, three-year-old daughter Zara watched on from the path in disbelief as little Luke struggled beneath the frozen water for 45 minutes while they waited for the rescue team.

Sadly, by the time they arrived, the pup could not be saved.

Jennifer told The Record: "We weren't walking on the ice… we were just walking along the path with him and Zara and he saw two swans lying near one of the piers and just leaped off.

"By time the rescue teams got to him in the water, it was already too late. Lukey was floating.

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"They gave him CPR, a defibrillator and oxygen, as well as warming him up, but to no avail.

"In a last-ditch attempt my husband and his friend drove him to vets in Lockerbie where they also tried. It was too late.

"It was a really traumatic day and my husband and I are just sitting down now and trying to process. We literally watched and heard him for nearly an hour completely helpless.

"I can’t believe it unfolded as it did.

"It's sad 'cause he’s been keeping Zara entertained during all these lockdowns and restrictions.

"She was crying and kept saying ‘Where’s my doggy?’"

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It comes after plummeting temperatures saw ponds and other bodies freeze over across Scotland, leading to many punters walking on the ice.

In Glasgow's Queen's Park, and ice-skater showed off her moves, with scores of people enjoying the novelty of walking across the popular pond.

But just days later, on January 5, a boy had to be rescued after falling through the ice.

And in Livingstone, a man was saved from a frozen reservoir after plunging through the frozen surface while playing hockey.

Yesterday we told how a heroic gym owner was praised yesterday for diving in and saving the life of a young girl and three dogs in Dundee yesterday.

Following Luke's tragic death, Jennifer has issued a warning to members of the public to be wary of the frozen dangers so nobody else suffers similar heartbreak.

She added: "I'd love people to not make the same mistake as us as we did today. It was so traumatic.

"So many people seem to be risking it and walking out on the ice but it's literally a matter of life and death.

"It's too much of a risk and even today my husband and I were saying you’re risking the lives of the servicemen and women too that were out rescuing him.

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