Arthritis Doesn’t Stop Rescuer of Drowning Dog

A man who suffers from severe arthritis jumped into an icy river to save an Irish setter that had fallen through the ice and could not save itself, officials said Friday.

“I’ve got to give the guy credit for going in,” said Ron Dolson, who, along with his wife, Abbie Dolson, own the dog, Suntoo. “A guy’s got to have a big heart to do something like that.”

John Richardson, 38, a disabled interior remodeler from North Oxford, jumped into the Ware River to rescue the female dog that had fallen through the ice and was struggling to keep its snout above water.

Richardson and a friend, Raymond Renaud, were driving along the river when they saw that the dog was in trouble. They stopped and tried throwing a rope to the dog, but Suntoo ignored that rescue attempt.

Richardson, who suffers from a severe form of arthritis, said there was no way that he would let the animal drown, so he started breaking the ice and splashed across the river. “Yeah, I went for a swim,” Richardson said.

After two attempts, he rescued the dog.

“The dog’s all right,” Dolson said. “She’s a 3-year-old Irish setter, and she loves the water. She’s gone into openings in the ice before, but she has always got herself out.”

Richardson was treated for exposure at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester and later released.