Delaware man rescues daughter's dog after falling in icy pond

PIKE CREEK, Delaware (WPVI) -- A father's love knows no bounds. That's what a Delaware man says is the reason he jumped into an icy pond after his daughter's dog.

It happened in Pike Creek this weekend.

"As soon as I saw her, I stripped off my clothes down to my Calvin Kleins and went into the water to retrieve her," said Robert Carty.

Carty said he didn't think twice about venturing onto the frozen pond in Carousel Park.

"I couldn't imagine going home with one dog. I think I'd be in trouble. Maybe a divorced dad," Carty joked.

Nelly is one of Carty's daughter's dogs. He was taking care of her and a second dog when Nelly ran out onto the ice.

Carty says after 10 feet, the pond became incredibly deep.

"A gentleman behind me on the shore threw me a life belt, which you see behind us. I got my arms and head through and whipped my way towards her and tried to break a channel through the ice," he said.

Two bystanders were able to haul him and the dog to shore before they were treated by EMS with the Mill Creek Fire department. Carty's daughter Mariah was at work when she got the call.

"Just to know that my dad didn't think of his life, but thought he would be in trouble with me, but the fact he stripped right down is a selfless act," she said.

The New Castle County Parks Department took steps on Wednesday to prevent a repeat event. Crews installed metal fencing to close off chutes that give dogs access to the pond at Carousel Park in Pike Creek.