Police, bystanders rescue dog on icy Sandusky Bay

SANDUSKY — Apollo the German Shepherd is one lucky dog. About a dozen bystanders and Sandusky police officers rushed to the shoreline Monday afternoon to rescue Apollo after he ran out onto the ice-covered Sandusky Bay.Police were notified at about 12:50 p.m. that two dogs owned by Sandusky resident Alexis Pitcher escaped Pitcher's Pierce Street home. The pair of dogs were seen running together down Jackson Street shortly before apparently splitting up.Apollo made his way down to the Jackson Street Pier off Shoreline Drive and went onto the ice, according to Sandusky police Lt. Rich Braun.Sandusky officers Lucas Rospert and Brett Bird arrived at the scene and tried to coax Apollo off the ice, Braun said. Pitcher then arrived and was able to call out to Apollo and get him to walk back toward the shore."It was honestly a group effort," Pitcher said. "We found a spot where the ice went all the way to the ledge and I kept calling for him. Then when he crawled to the ledge the police officer and a nice man helped pull him up."Meanwhile, someone caught Pitcher's other dog, a black Labrador named Tucker, elsewhere in the city and took him to the Erie County Dog Pound. Pitcher said she got Tucker back from the pound.Braun said Sandusky police will "occasionally" get calls similar to this incident."I'm just glad (Apollo) didn't go under or fall in (the water)," Braun said.Pitcher said after the dogs escaped her home, she drove around about 10 miles looking for Apollo and Tucker. The dog warden then called her and told her Apollo was out on the ice.She said it was "scary" seeing Apollo out on the ice."I'm just so grateful (Apollo and Tucker) were found," Pitcher said. "I love my dogs so much."[gallery]Visit our Sandusky police hub for more storiesReach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterWith help from Sandusky police Officer Lucas Rospert and a passer-by, dog owner Alexis Pitcher, lifts her German Shepherd, Apollo, to safety after he found his way onto the ice near the Coastal Management Office in Sandusky on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in Sandusky.Sandusky police officers Lucas Rospert and Brett Bird and passers-by try to help Apollo, a German Shepherd, off the Sandusky Bay ice near the Coastal Management Office on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019.Apollo, a German Shepherd, wanders on the ice of Sandusky Bay near the Jet Express dock on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. Passers-by and Sandusky police officers helped rescue the dog.