New York state man rushes into frozen lake to rescue dogs

March 13 (UPI) -- A New York state man shed his clothes and rushed into a frozen lake to rescue two dogs that fell through the ice.

Timofey Yuriev of Yonkers said he and his dog, Kira, were walking at the O'Hara Nature Center in Irvington when he noticed two older dogs walking across the frozen lake.

Yuriev rushed to action when the dogs fell through the ice, shedding most of his clothes and hurrying into the lake with Kira in tow.

Yuriev broke through the ice to create a path for the dogs to swim to shore.

Yuriev said his grandfather taught him how to swim in icy water when he was a 7-year-old boy living in Kazakhstan.

"When I did the breathing technique everything felt nice," he told WABC-TV. "I felt a bit light-headed and I went for the second dog."

He said Kira helped guide the dogs back toward shore.

Yuriev, whose rescue was caught on video by his wife, Melissa Kho, said the dogs' owner was on the shore nearby.

"She was crying," Yuriev told the The Journal News/lohud. "She was so thankful."