Man rescued after jumping into icy marsh after pet dogs

Two dogs and their owner found themselves dangerously stranded in an ice-filled marsh in the town of Revere, Massachusetts, yesterday after the pets escaped from their home.

The pair - Thunder and Lola - managed to scamper over a large snowdrift in the garden before deciding to explore the treacherous ice cover of Diamond Creek.

Soon after they became stuck on precarious pieces of sludge, unable to return home.

The dogs' owner Albert Sheridan, 56, tried to rescue the dogs himself but got stuck neck-high in the mud and snow. He started getting chest pains and at one point said he thought he was having a heart attack.

Luckily his daughter heard him calling for help and alerted the emergency services.

The firefighters saved Mr Sheridan first and took him to hospital but it took a further 90 minutes to coax the frightened dogs off the ice.

Finally the firefighters got the dogs got onto a rescue sled and pulled them to safety where they were wrapped in blankets and taken to a local vet for inspection.

Afterward, Mr Sheridan's daughter Jacqueline told local station 7 News: "I'm so thankful. These dogs are my world."

Both dogs are said to be doing well.