“Lucky” probably isn’t its name. But Ligonier Township police Chief Ron Dorazio says that word aptly describes a dog rescued Thursday from the icy banks of Loyalhanna Creek. “How it got down there, I don’t know,” the chief said. “But it certainly was lucky.” Dorazio said a group of photography students who were on the banks of the creek taking photos of ice flows yesterday morning heard a dog’s cries. When they finally located the mixed breed, it was stranded on an ice shelf along the water below the westbound lanes of Route 30, near Darlington. “They thought it was actually stuck in the ice, but it wasn’t. It was walking back and forth along the bank and it had nowhere to go,” Dorazio said. “If it would have jumped into the water, it wouldn’t have survived,” he added. “And even if it could have made it up to the highway, it would’ve probably been hit by a car and killed.” Tribune-Review photographer Scott Spangler, who was with two of his students from Oakbridge Academy of Art, which is based in Lower Burrell, said the dog was in a sorry state. “It was freezing. It was shivering and it looked scared to death,” Spangler said. Because most cellular phones do not work in the steep but scenic gorge, Spangler sent one of his students into Ligonier to summon help. Dorazio got the call and called in additional aid from a group of Darlington Volunteer Fire Department members. Dorazio said the group managed to corral the canine, “and they got it calmed down.” Spangler said they used a peanut-butter granola bar to lure the frightened animal closer. Then firefighters managed to “lasso it” with belts provided by the photographers. The rescuers pulled the petrified pooch up to the highway and into Dorazio’s squad car. The police chief transferred custody of the dog to Westmoreland County humane agent Elaine Gower, and it was taken to the Action For Animals shelter in Derry Township. Where the dog came from remains a mystery, though. “It had a collar, but no license,” Dorazio said. “We had a report of a missing dog, but this wasn’t it.”

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