Two Surrey firefighters rescued a couple of white huskies from the icy waters of Green Timbers Lake on Thursday morning.

The dogs had somehow got out into the middle of the lake, which had a skim of ice, and were preparing to make their precarious last stand on a flimsy bed of reeds.

Surrey Deputy Fire Chief John Caviglia said park-goers called the fire department for help, and two members of the technical rescue team rescued the dogs just before noon, with the help of an inflatable zodiac.

Caviglia said there was a fair number of spectators and firefighters were worried someone might try to rescue the dogs - with tragic results - before the professional rescue team arrived. Fortunately nobody jumped in and subsequently nobody was seriously hurt, including the dogs.

"It was quite a ways out there, and it was pretty cold," Caviglia said.

Animal control officers took custody of the dogs after they were brought to safety.

"We don't know where the owner was," Caviglia said. "He wasn't on site. The owner will have to get the dogs back from animal control."

tzytaruk@thenownewspaper.com