Puppy stuck on frozen New Jersey lake for hours brought home safely with help of drone

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- A 20-month-old dog is now at home safe after being stuck for nearly a day on a frozen New Jersey lake.

They tried everything to lure the puppy, including chicken.

A cop finally managed to get the sheepadoodle named Brooklyn off the frozen water, but then Brooklyn took off.

Come morning, the dog was finally found with the help of a drone.

The snow on top of the frozen surface of Lake Parsippany was filled with the paw prints of the confused and scared pup.

Her owner was out of town for the holidays.

On Christmas Eve she was lonely and cold after running from her dogsitter onto the lake and refused any attempts to coax her back from the treacherous thin ice.

Kishan Patel lives right on the lake and thought he might be able to help the police officers there. He has a drone and a dog of his own.

"And that made me want to help out even more. Just because I can imagine what the owner must be going through," Patel said.

He used the drone to tempt Brooklyn with a piece of chicken. It almost worked.

"We did get it about 20-30 feet off the shore," Patel said.

But once she saw the people there, back out she went.

"The police officers were here all night, until about 11:30 at night on Christmas Eve," Patel said.

Once it was dark, Patel's drone was able to help pinpoint the dog's location.

After using weights to gauge how thin the ice was, an officer safely made his way out there, close enough to spook her to run back to shore.

She was so spooked, though, that she just kept running.

"The dog got scared off the ice and it ran into someone's front porch where it was eventually found," Patel said.

Patel says he's relieved to have gotten word that Brooklyn is doing well and feels for her owner.

"I'd be heartbroken," Patel said.

And of all the drones that may or may not be flying around New Jersey these days, he's happy he was put to use for something helpful.

"I feel even more happy that the dog is safe and it's back home," Patel said.