Men Rescue Wolf They Thought Was A Dog From Drowning In Freezing Water

It’s perilous to save any animal from freezing water, but it’s extremely dangerous when the animal is wild.

In the virtually frozen Parnu River, a crew of Estonian dam employees observed an animal straining to stay above water. The males rushed to the river to assist in the animal’s rescue. The majority of the river was covered in ice, which needed to be chipped away. When the men approached the animal, they mistook it for a dog.

The men were finally able to clear a passage to the shivering dog. They dragged the frozen creature to the beach and wrapped him in a blanket. The men loaded the dog into their car and drove to the nearest veterinarian. The men marveled on how friendly the dog was on the trip to the clinic, and it even cuddled in one of the men’s lap. They didn’t think much of it and assumed the dog was simply thanking them for their assistance.

When the vet informed the men that they had truly saved a wolf, they were taken aback. The wolf’s blood pressure was exceptionally low, which could explain why it was so gentle, according to the veterinarian. The animal was determined to be a wolf by a local hunter. The wolf turned out to be a year-old juvenile male. When he arrived at the clinic, he was weary and hypothermic, and he need medical attention.

For everyone’s safety, they placed the wolf in a crate and continued his care. The wolf recovered completely and was released back into the wild with a tracking collar.

“Fortunately, everything went out fine,” said the Estonian Union for the Protection of Animals (EUPA), who paid for the wolf’s treatment. “We are so happy for the outcome of the story, and wish to thank all the participants – especially these men who rescued the wolf and the doctors of the clinic who were not afraid to treat and nurture the wild animal,” the EUPA said in a statement.