UPDATED: Dog rescued from frozen pond in Nova Scotia reunited with family

UPDATE: Late Friday afternoon, the dog was reunited with her family, who said her name is “Asia” and she is 12 years old. She had been missing since Tuesday. Her family, who declined a full interview, said it is a miracle she was found.

Original story:

A small dog that was rescued from a partially-frozen pond by RCMP is warming the hearts of dog lovers in Nova Scotia.

The female dog, believed to be a Sheltie mix, is recovering at the Homeward Bound City Pound shelter in Dartmouth.

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Around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, a resident in the Lake Echo area heard whimpering in the woods. The dog was in a marshy pond and needed the help of local RCMP.

“The dog had broken through the ice. It was about a foot, foot and a half, of water that it was wading in. We tried to coax the dog out with some food, but the dog was not interested so our next option was to go in and get the dog,” said Const. Keith Deveau.

“It was shivering and it really wasn’t that friendly towards us so we weren’t sure if it was injured.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was shivering and it really wasn't that friendly towards us so we weren't sure if it was injured."

Deveau and his partner wrapped the dog up in a patrol jacket and went straight to the animal hospital. Once in stable condition, she was brought to Homeward Bound.

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“She was completely matted, she had ice on her, they had to shave off the ice and the mats just to make her comfortable,” said Katie Hauser, an animal care specialist at the shelter.

“She was terrified.”

The dog wasn’t seriously injured and has been able to eat. Staff at the shelter think she’s about 10 years old and has signs of dental disease. They also believe she had owners, who may have been looking for her for a while now.

“By the looks of her, she’s been I would say on her own for a little while. She took a long time to even acknowledge we were here so I think she’s been without people for a long time. It’s hard to say,” Hauser said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "By the looks of her, she's been I would say on her own for a little while. She took a long time to even acknowledge we were here so I think she's been without people for a long time. It's hard to say," Hauser said.

Homeward Bound hopes to reunite the dog with her owners, or else put the dog up for adoption.

There has already been a lot of interest in the pup. A little over an hour after RCMP posted the dog’s picture and story on social media, animal lover Emel Kesbi had stopped into the shelter to see her.

“It really just broke my heart,” Kesebi said.

“I just wanted to kind of meet her. I mean, I’m looking for a dog myself so I was thinking that maybe we could mesh.”