Showing off a moxie of her own, a woman jumped into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan to save her best friend.
Jess Craigie was walking her two dogs along the lake Tuesday morning. She let Moxie, a dog she had rescued in Belize two years ago, off leash. Before she knew it, the dog dashed after some sea gulls, then misstepped on the jetty at North Avenue Beach and fell into the lake.
Moxie apparently missed the dog-paddle class in her early days.
The 34-year-old woman shouted to a man sitting nearby for help. He called 911 and tried to convince Craigie not to go in after the dog. Fully-dressed, still wearing her shoes, and apparently throwing caution to the wind, she jumped.
She clung to a metal pipe sticking out of the water while the 2-year-old mixed-breed swam toward her.
"I knew the water was going to be cold, and I also knew she was going to drown if I didn't try to sae her," Craigie told the Sun-Times.
The freezing woman treaded water with Moxie standing on her shoulders for 20 minutes before emergency workers lifted them out.
Chicago police marine officers rescued Craigie and Moxie from the 40-degree water, and both suffered nothing more than a deep chill.
Craigie was taken to a hospital and treated for hypothermia. She says she's never been colder in her life.
