Dog saved from train tracks

This is a feel good story for a feel good time of year, and it is one of those little local stories that you usually don't hear about. This one made it into the pages of both the Chippewa Herald and the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, though.

That's when Strand found that the dog was frozen to the railroad ties.

“I lifted his tail and hind quarters, and saw he was literally frozen to the tracks,” Strand said. “He was pretty hunkered down.”

Strand pulled hard on the dog's tail, releasing him from frozen captivity, but not before pulling lots of hair from the dog, he said.

“He gave a heck of a whelp,” he said.

What the officers didn't know is that their rescue attempt came with little time to spare. A train was scheduled to pass across the tracks about 10 minutes after the rescue was completed.

Lucky dog.