Some people happen to be in the right place at the right time, and Darcy Pell is one of them. The 31-year-old security engineer was out jogging near a lake in Yorkshire, England when he saw a dog running on the frozen lake. Darcy recalls thinking to himself that the dog was going to fall through the ice and into the frozen waters, and that’s exactly what happened.
“I carried on my run for a couple of minutes but kept watching the dog, then just sort of decided that it wasn’t going to get out, so I ran back toward the lake,” Darcy shared with PEOPLE.
Without thinking twice, the brave man jumped right into the freezing water with his clothes on and slowly made his way to the pooch in peril. A local passerby, Paula Town, started filming as onlookers watch from the shore. Darcy remained calm the entire time, and as he made his way towards the pup his smooth demeanor never wavered. As he got closer, he helped the pup and coaxed him to the shoreline.
“I don’t generally jump into ice water for fun, but I do triathlons and live in Yorkshire, so it’s never really very warm,” Darcy stated. “I’m a strong swimmer, so it didn’t really phase me. I just got in and used my body to break the ice because it was quite thick that day.”
Although Darcy has no idea how the dog wound up on the ice, he is glad he saved the pooch and reunited him with his grateful owners.
Press play on the video below to see the fantastic rescue in action. Thank you, Darcy!
H/T: PEOPLE
