Adam Dominik seemed to be losing the battle as he tugged hard on the rope, trying to reel in a man who had jumped into the icy lake near Montrose Harbor after his pet poodle.



"I threw the rope over him but the dog was kind of pulling on him, with his weight pushing him under the water," Dominik said. "He kept saying, 'Save the dog first.' I kept saying, 'No, we're going to save your life first and then the dog, your life is more important,' but he insisted on pulling up the dog first."



So Dominik kept pulling, slowly drawing the man and the dog to shore in the driving snow Tuesday evening. He was still struggling when police and fire crews arrived and took over and got the man and his dog out of the water.



"He's responsible for a rescue here today," Police Marine Unit Officer Kevin Kelly said. "He did a great job. He was able to pull that victim close to the shoreline, and that allowed us to get our rescue sling down to him and work as a group to get that person up, and then it was a long trek from that shoreline up to the ambulance here."



The man, in his 40s, was taken to Weiss Memorial Hospital in serious condition, police said. The dog was also expected to survive.



Police said the man had been walking with three poodles at about 5:15 p.m. when one of the dogs ran around a retaining wall and onto the ice and fell in. The owner went after him and fell in the water too, police said.



Dominik said he was jogging near the bird sanctuary when he heard dogs barking. A woman who had been cross-country skiing was already there and calling 911, he said.



"His face was peering out. He was completely submerged, except for his face," Dominik said. "I knew I had about two or three minutes before hypothermia set in and he went under."



Dominik said he found some rope nearby and threw it out to the man.