January 6, 2009

A woman drowned on Saturday, after she plunged into an icy cold lake while attempting to catch her grandson's wandering puppy. (Pet Pulse Illustration by Tim Mattson)

NEW YORK -- A New Jersey woman sacrificed her life for that of her grandson's dog on Saturday, when she fell into a frozen pond after trying to rescue Apollo, a German Shepherd puppy.

Though the 6-month-old dog survived the icy incident, the woman, Janet Howard, 61, drowned in the Plainsboro Pond, in Plainsboro, N.J.

"She was the most selfless person," Howard's youngest daughter, Molly Mastrangelo, 38, said of her mother to the The Trentonian.

"She would put everyone's needs before her own. A saint, truly. Even the dog. She went into the pond to save him. That's the kind of person she was."

While Howard was walking Apollo on Saturday morning, he broke free and veered onto the thin sheet of ice covering Plainsboro Pond. Authorities speculate that Howard followed the dog almost 25 feet away from shore, but fell through the shallow layer of ice.

The tragic incident generated double acts of heroism, as a Plainsboro resident witnessed Howard's fall, and plunged into the frigid waters after her.

The resident, Austin Hearn, told police he was riding his bike along a nearby trail when he saw Howard and Apollo struggling to stay afloat.

"The woman was barely keeping her head above water and appeared to be growing weaker by the second," the Plaisnboro police department said in a news release. "She was separated from the bank by a solid sheet of ice; the dog was also floundering in the water."

Hearn first attempted to pull Howard from the pond with a branch, veering off about 15 feet away from the water's edge.

"It's impossible for me to imagine leaving someone there and abandoning her," Hearn told NY 4 News. "My first priority was to get her to safety. That's why I got the branch."

Yet the initial rescue attempt "didn't work out," Hearn said, after the ice caved in under him, too.

Despite his 15 years of experience as a lifeguard, Hearn recognized that the circumstances were challenging, at best.

"My lungs seized up, I couldn't breathe," Hearn said.

Hearn's two pairs of pants, sweater, long-sleeve shirt and shoes acted as severe deterrents, leaving his body feeling "heavy."

"This is it for me," he recalled thinking at the time. " I'm going to die."

He managed to swim his way to shore, though, and ran home to call 911. By the time authorities and Hearn arrived back at the scene, Howard was nowhere to be found.

Divers with the fire department later pulled Howard's body from the "murky" waters, according to The Trentonian.

Apollo, however, met a happier fate -- the dog somehow found his way back to his owners' house, where he appeared on the stoop, sopping wet. The dog reportedly sustained no lasting injuries.

Though the recovery was only a partial success, Howard's daughters and the Plainsboro police praised Hearn's efforts.

"Yes, he is a hero. For him to do what he did, he could have lost his life," said Howard's elder daughter, Sonia Slivinsky, 41.

"He really did an amazing thing," said Sgt. Joseph Duffy, of the Plainsboro Township Police Department.

Hearn adopted a more modest attitude of his deed.

"I didn't rescue her," he said. "That's all I can say. I guess I have to learn that sometimes you're not gonna get the outcome you desire."

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The Associated Press, The Trentonian, NY 4 News and MyCentralJersey.com contributed to this article.