Rex the dog was trapped on icy Lake St. Clair — but the Lakeshore, Ont., community rallied to save him

It was 28 long hours that Rex the dog was trapped on the ice of Lake St. Clair in Lakeshore, Ont.

But the Bondy family says they're overwhelmed after a post about their missing dog launched a community-wide search and rescue operation to bring him home safely this week. 

Jennifer and Anthony Bondy say the rescue operation felt like a movie with the way people came together to help them out. 

"It just shows that it really does take a village and we're really helpful for the people that were helping us out," said Jennifer Bondy.

It started Wednesday morning when Anthony, mid breakfast, looked in his backyard and couldn't find Rex or Charlie, the two family dogs who are usually pawing at the door to come in early in the winter temperatures. 

He fired up his surveillance camera and watched video of both dogs running off.

"They went down the dock, jumped on the canal and headed out toward the lake," said Anthony. 

Rex camouflaged against the snow and ice

Hopping into his vehicle, he raced through town to find his dogs before stopping at the edge of Lake St. Clair. 

That's where he spotted paw prints in the snow. 

"[Charlie] came back to me no problem, but Rex — I couldn't see him," he said.

Using binoculars, Anthony spotted a tiny speck — a fluffy white dog camouflaged in the snow — far out on the ice. 

"I walked out as far as I could but he just kept going further and further the wrong way," he said. 

Concerns about moving on the frozen ice 

At one point Anthony jumped on a dirt bike to try tracking down his dog. 

While a cold winter has kept a good chunk of St. Clair frozen with thick ice, a recent thaw made Anthony anxious. 

Anthony's wife Jennifer called the Lakeshore Fire Department for help. A member came to the water to help look but Jennifer says they weren't able to start a search without a clear understanding of where Rex was. 

"We called basically everyone," said Jennifer, including the police, animal control, and the coast guard in an attempt to get a helicopter up to help the search. 

At the same time a friend posted on a local Facebook group which launched a community-wide effort to rescue Rex. 

"We had people coming out with telescopes, they were bringing us blankets and coffee, doing anything they could to support us," said Jennifer. 

Sweater, food left overnight to help Rex return

She said people were reporting sightings and leads on Rex's whereabouts, hoping they could get him back home. 

But as the light started to fade away into night, Rex had still been last spotted on the frozen ice and conditions were worsening.

Jennifer put a family sweater and dog food on the snow hoping that it might entice Rex back to the shore. 

"We went out through the night hoping that it was quiet and it was dark and maybe he would be less scared and he would have made his way to the shore."

"You start getting those thoughts in your head that maybe he's not coming home," said Jennifer. 

But they kept positive, she said, praying to be reunited with Rex. 

Snowmobile to the rescue

They went back out early Thursday morning alongside Jessie Schouten from Lucky K-9, a dog training organization, who brought a dog whistle to attempt to get Rex back to shore. 

"And then the rest of the community started showing up," said Jennifer. 

One of them, Matt Leavoy, had a snowmobile they used to ride "miles out" on the water. 

Somehow, by mid-morning, Leavoy spotted Rex on the ice.

"Matt jumped off the snowmobile, jumped on his knees and the dog came to him, finally," said Anthony. 

Leavoy brought Rex on his snowmobile to Jamie Leavoy and Steve Coulter who had walked across the ice-covered lake in float suits with a leash and dog treats ready to walk Rex to shore

A call to action

Coulter was working out with his daughters when they told him about Rex lost on the ice.

"Yup, let's go," said Coulter of his reaction. He leads a group called Crew 45 Army that aims to inspire young people to act with integrity. 

Coulter, who snowmobiles and ice fishes, grabbed his float gear from home and headed to the beach where he found Jamie waiting to head out with his gear. 

Reunion video captures the moment

Anthony said it felt like a movie, watching the rescue take place through Windsor photographer Fly with Rye's drone.

Twenty eight hours after Rex first ran off, he was back in human hands. 

"We were in tears of joy, and all the people there, probably 30 people there in the parkette, were all crying and happy," Anthony said.

Coulter, through tears, said watching everyone join together to help a family out was an incredible experience. 

"The most beautiful thing that came out of this was, that family got their dog back and I got to witness that with all these beautiful people," he said.

"When you struggle growing up as a youngster you struggle finding your worth. I found my worth yesterday."

Jennifer said that Rex is "completely unscathed," dry and healthy, who enjoyed a big bowl of food and a nap.

"It was a miracle for sure."