Workers Rescue Dog from a Frozen Lake and Rush It to the Vet — Only to Find Out It's a Wolf!

Construction workers in Estonia risked their lives to rescue a frozen dog from Pärnu river — only to learn it’s a wolf.

On Wednesday, Robin Sillamäe, Rando Kartsepp and Erki Väli were doing dredging work on the Sindi dam when they spotted, what they thought was a nearly frozen dog, trapped in the icy body of water, Estonian Union for the Protection of Animals revealed in a post shared on Facebook.

Thinking fast, the men swiftly cleared a path for the animal, which allowed it to swim to shore, the post explained.

Once the animal was in their reach, the workers brought out towels and did their best to dry it before taking it to their warm car.

After calling out for help, the workers were instructed to take the “dog” to a nearby veterinary clinic for proper care, according to the post.

 

The Estonian Union for the Protection of Animals explained that the workers noticed the animal was extremely calm and docile — assumably why they believed it was a dog.

“He was calm, slept on my legs. when I wanted to stretch them, he raised his head for a moment,” Kartsepp told Estonian newspaper Postimees.

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Upon arrival at the clinic, veterinarians observed the “dog” had low blood pressure, which explains it’s somber behavior.

The veterinarians later treated the animal for hypothermia and shock.

While the doctors were skeptical in believing the “dog” was just a domestic canine, it took a local hunter to reveal it was actually a wolf.

The hunter, whose identity has not been revealed, was also able to determine that the wolf was only 1 year old.

Fearing that he may return to his wild nature following treatment, the veterinarians placed the wolf in a cage while he recovered.

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“At first he was so done in for, he didn’t resist at all,” veterinarian Tarvo Markson told the Postimees. “But once he started to get an idea of the situation, I felt things might quickly take a turn for the dangerous. We got him into a cage.”

Within a day, the wolf regained it’s strength and was released back into the wild. In addition, the wolf was sent out in a GPS collar by researchers from the national environment agency, BBC News reported.

“We thank the heart of the young men who went to help this wild animal,” EUPA said.

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