When 8-year-old Caden Medernach’s mother and yellow Labrador plunged into the icy waters of a suburban pond over the weekend, the young boy quickly jumped into action.
Cathy Medernach said her dog Bailey ventured onto the ice to chase geese Sunday afternoon behind her Aurora home.
“She went running out there and as soon as she got out there the ice gave,” Medernach said. “Caden and I pushed the canoe down here as fast as we could.”
Cathy Medernach got into the canoe and her son pushed it into the pond with her onboard, but soon after Medernach found herself waist deep in painfully freezing water.
“I just started yelling as loud as I could,” she said.
But Caden Medernach didn’t waste any time.
“I ran inside and grabbed the phone,” the boy said.
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In 911 calls released by police Monday, Caden is heard telling his mom to come back to the shore, at the instruction of police.
“I was scared,” he said of the ordeal.
And so was his mother.
“I thought of my whole entire family and I thought, ‘I’m not going to die this way,’” she said. “I can’t die this way.”
Authorities eventually came and rescued Medernach from the water first. After 30 minutes in the water, the family dog was also saved and treated for hypothermia.
“I can’t stop hugging my son for doing what he did,” she said.
