Firefighters rescue missing foster dog from ice at Dane County Regional Airport

Amanda Quintana by Amanda Quintana















Baxter the Terrier was on the run for 86 hours before firefighters with the 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field rescued him from the ice.

The night before Christmas Eve, the firefighters were called to an area of the Dane County Regional Airport property where the dog had fallen through ice.

“We tried to break some ice out from in front of the dog and he didn’t take that very well and actually went the other way. Trevor was able to go around the other side and catch him with a pole,” Casey Klossner said.

Klossner and Trevor Klock said they were just doing their job, but Baxter’s foster mom believes they went above and beyond the call of duty.

“I really can’t thank them enough. I can’t imagine what we would’ve done with our Christmas if he didn’t come home safely,” Mariya Baltes said.

Baxter is Baltes’ 10th foster dog. He was only with her family for two days before he escaped from the backyard.

“We’re pretty sure he went at least 8 miles if he went in a straight route. And we had mapped the area and we hung up flyers in 16-square-miles radius,” she said.

Neighbors and a bus driver spotted Baxter, but couldn’t catch him. Baltes followed every lead and never gave up.

“One of the harder parts is I walked all the gullies and ditches to make sure if he was hit by a car … I made sure he wasn’t there either,” she said.

She is calling the rescue a Christmas miracle.

On Thursday, Baxter met potential adopters. They are excited to take him home on New Year’s Day.

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