A WOMAN thanked firemen who saved her from icy water after she tried to rescue her dog, but admitted she would do it again.

Wendy Alesbrook, of Norham Gardens, Oxford, accepted that some people might think she was foolish to jump into the River Cherwell after her beloved pet, but thinks others would have done the same.

The 39-year-old’s rescue mission came days after pensioner Ann Powles was found dead under ice with her dog Jumbo in the same river.

Miss Alesbrook was walking six year-old dogs Milo and Pugsey close to Lady Margaret Hall college, when rottweiler Milo leapt on to the only remaining section of ice in the river while she was not looking.

When she saw the dog fall through the ice and begin to struggle in the freezing water, Miss Alesbrook said she did not need to think twice before trying to save him.

She said: “I was concentrating on my other dog at the time, so was distracted for a split second.

“Milo does not like being in the water usually, so he must have thought he could just walk across the ice.

“It was the only patch still left on that part of the river.

“When I saw him struggling, I did not think twice.

“I slid out on to the ice, hoping to pull him back, but it just broke.

“I know a lot of people would say it is stupid, but he is my dog and I did not want to leave him.

“I think a lot of people who have got dogs would do the same. I would do it again to be honest.”

Miss Alesbrook said she could have swum back to the bank herself but did not want to leave her dog flailing in the water.

She said a woman passing by raised the alarm and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue service were on the scene within 10 minutes.

Crews threw in a line to pull Miss Alesbrook to safety before using a hook to reel in the dog.

She was then taken to the John Radcliffe by ambulance where she was treated for cold and shock.

Miss Alesbrook thanked both the mystery passer-by and the fire service for their help.

She said: “When they pulled us out, I said sorry to them for being a pain, but they were lovely.

“And without the woman who raised the alarm I do not know what I would have done.

“I am very thankful.”

Andy Ford, a watch manager at Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said earlier this week: “Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service would like to remind people to take extra care around frozen rivers and lakes and also keep dogs on leads.

“The ice can be very thin in places and especially now the ice is starting to thaw.”

Three days before Christmas, the body of 74-year-old Ann Powles, from Summertown, was found under ice upstream in the Cherwell at Sunnymead, with her border terrier Jumbo.

It is thought the grandmother slipped while trying to rescue her dog on the evening of December 20.