MPR Staff

MPR News/90.1 FM

The ice on bodies of water across much of Minnesota isn’t thick enough for living creatures to walk on, the Twin Cities National Weather Service branch warned on Monday.

A dog and its owner found out the hard way this weekend in Chanhassen.

The dog strayed from its owner about 60 yards offshore when it apparently went into the chilly water, the Chanhassen Villager newspaper reports.

The ice was too thin for the owner to go on the water, so two firefighters had to come rescue the animal.

The whole situation was preventable, Chanhassen Fire Chief Don Johnson told the Villager: “[Stay] away from the ice until we have a good 4-6 inches and always keep your pets on a leash to prevent them from getting into dangerous situations.”

It’s not possible to deem ice as entirely “safe,” the state Department of Natural Resources says. That’s because many conditions affect ice’s strength, and that varies across a body of water.

The DNR suggests people ask a local resort or bait shop to check on ice conditions before heading onto a lake, or measure the thickness yourself.