DULUTH – Duluth firefighters in ice rescue suits swam in 8-foot Lake Superior waves last week to rescue a drowning dog in Canal Park.

A 70-pound pit bull mix had slipped from his leash and jumped into the shipping canal near the Aerial Lift Bridge on Thursday night, when the water temperature at the surface was around 40 degrees.

The Fire Department can't always respond to such calls involving animals, and in this case, it was dangerous for crew members even with training and protective gear, Assistant Chief Dan Lattner said. But the owner had threatened to jump in after the pet, 911 dispatchers told the fire department.

With the height of the waves, the wind strength and the temperature of the water, "I can just about guarantee you it would have ended in tragedy," Lattner said.

Two firefighters wearing buoyant rescue suits went in after the dog, but they struggled to keep sight of the dark gray animal, which disappeared under the water several times as waves pushed them all out of the canal and into the harbor, where wave direction was on their side. It took them about 15 minutes to get the dog to the department's inflatable rescue boat, where they were all pulled up to safety.

The pup "didn't have much gas left in the tank" when he was rescued, but was later walking on his own and wagging his tail, Lattner said.

Fire crew members were able to find the dog thanks to portable lights and dispatcher use of the Aerial Lift Bridge cameras, along with the bridge engineer's maneuvering of them in assistance.

Lattner said it's unclear why the dog jumped into the water.