Area teacher saves dog trapped on the ice

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CANINE SAVIOR–Mariah Dunham, a teacher at Baraga Area Schools, pictured with her own furry friends, was walking her dog on Jan. 3, 2024, when suddenly another walker’s dog fell through the ice near the pow wow grounds. Braving the cold water, she smashed a path through the ice to get to the animal and brought it to safety.

by Porter Davis
“I considered it just an act of human kindness”. That was the very first thing that Baraga Area Schools’ Teacher Mariah Dunham said when she was asked to share her daring rescue of a dog trapped on the ice. Risking life and limb (literally) to save another, Dunham  attributed her actions to just being in the right place at the right time, but her story proves otherwise. Wednesday, Jan. 3, was just any other day for Dunham, a walk by the pow wow grounds with her dog, enjoying the decent weather before last weekend’s snowstorm. A friend had suggested Dunham go on the road towards the beach, and she met some people walking their own dogs along the path. The dogs all greeted each other, and the walkers went on their way. Dunham kept on walking and was nearly to her vehicle when she heard
screaming from behind and felt a compulsion to run back. Before she did, she secured her dog in a vehicle and spotted a tow strap. Dunham felt an intuition that she couldn’t entirely explain, saying it was, “Just some divine intervention. We never go down that path and we just happened to be there, and something told me to grab that tow strap and put my dog away.” To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.