POLSON — Two dogs were pulled from the icy waters of Flathead Lake Monday morning after venturing onto thin ice and falling through, prompting a multi-agency rescue effort that lasted approximately 40 minutes and was immediately undone when both dogs tried to run back onto the ice.

“We got them out. They were shivering. We wrapped them in blankets. And then the big one just — took off. Straight back toward the lake,” said Polson Rural Fire Captain Donna Jessup, who led the rescue operation. “I have never felt more disrespected in my professional career.”

The dogs, a Labrador retriever and a hound mix belonging to local resident Phil Nordstrom, escaped from their yard at approximately 7:45 AM and made a direct line for the frozen shoreline of the lake, which Nordstrom described as “their whole thing.”

“They do this every winter,” Nordstrom admitted, standing on the shore in pajama pants and a Carhartt jacket. “Last year it was the Yellowstone River. Year before that, a frozen stock pond. They just love falling through ice. I think they think it’s a sport.”

The Polson Rural Fire Department deployed a rescue sled and rope system to reach the dogs, who had broken through approximately 60 feet from shore. The Labrador, a seven-year-old named Biscuit, was recovered first and described by rescuers as “cooperative but unrepentant.” The hound mix, a five-year-old named Bonanza, had to be retrieved twice after swimming further out during the initial approach.

“Bonanza actively resisted rescue,” Jessup confirmed. “At one point she looked me dead in the eyes and paddled in the opposite direction. I’ve pulled people out of car wrecks who were more agreeable.”

Both dogs were examined by a veterinarian and found to be in good health, suffering only from mild hypothermia and what the vet diplomatically described as “an apparent lack of self-preservation instinct.”

Nordstrom says he plans to install a taller fence, though he conceded that Biscuit has defeated every fence upgrade to date, including a six-foot privacy fence that the dog “went over like it was a suggestion.”

As of press time, both dogs were resting comfortably by a wood stove and staring out the window at the lake with what Nordstrom characterized as “zero lessons learned.”