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This dog was pulled out of Mona Lake in Norton Shores late Tuesday night, Jan. 21.

(Courtesy: Norton Shores Police Department)

NORTON SHORES, MI -- A lost dog submerged up to its neck in frigid Mona Lake water in Norton Shores Tuesday night was rescued by a police officer.

Public safety officials from Norton Shores were notified around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, of barking, whimpering sounds coming from the Mona Lake area.

The dog, described as a golden lab mix, was located about three feet from a dock at the north shore, underneath a resident’s boat lift. Police suspected that the dog had been in the water about 55 minutes, the report said.

“The dog was clinging to a patch of ice. Only the head and the paws were out of the water,” the report said.

The dog pulled out of Mona Lake on Tuesday, Jan. 21, was wearing this collar, police said.

The police officer at the scene managed to grab hold of the large dog and pull the dog to solid ground.

“I was able to reach the dog’s green collar with my fingertips after lying out on my stomach. After sliding the dog along the ice to the dock, I attempted to assist it onto the ice. The dog had no energy to help work its way out of the water. It was too heavy for me to simply lift out," the officer said in the report.

The police officer continued to pull the dog out himself, reaching “into the freezing water” and grabbing onto the dog’s stomach, the report said.

“The low lying dock allowed me to then roll away while holding onto the dog, lifting it out of the water and on top of me,” the officer said in the report.

The officer then carried the dog on to the shore.

Neighbors nearby offered up a jacket and multiple blankets to keep the dog warm. Another officer at the scene turned his cruiser heater on “full blast” to warm the dog. More blankets were offered by other officers at the scene, the report said.

“Upon placing the dog into my cruiser’s backseat, it still had no energy to move,” the officer wrote in the report.

No one at the scene recognized the dog. The dog’s condition did begin to improve after a little while, and a woman from Pound Buddies was called to the scene.

The woman took the dog to her home while area neighbors said they would try to locate the owner via social media sites.

The dog is described as a large, golden lab mix with a dark muzzle and a green collar. The dog was not wearing tags, the report said.

"The dog appeared to be well fed and old,” the report said.

Anyone who may know who owns the dog is asked to contact the Norton Shores Police Department at (231 )733-2691.

The initial call came in from a home in the 800 block of Bradley Avenue and the caller reported that the dog was barking for about 45 minutes before police arrived, according to the police report.

Norton Shores Fire Department officials were called to the scene as well.

Heather Lynn Peters covers police and fire, and writes a statewide food column, The Spunky Kitchen, for MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. Email her at hpeters@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter @HLPNEWS.