HIGHLAND, Ind. (AP) — Police and firefighters say they used ladders and rope to rescue an elderly golden retriever from the icy waters of a northwestern Indiana creek.

The dog had been missing from his owners’ home from two days when he was spotted last Friday stuck in a steep-sided creek in the Lake County town of Highland.

Highland Fire Chief Bill Timmer tells The (Northwest Indiana) Times that the senior dog was “fading fast” when crews arrived and found him stuck in the creek’s cold waters.

Timmer says the dog was “a little cantankerous” as rescuers pulled him up the steep, rocky sides of the creek with the help of ladders and rope.

The dog emerged from the creek water-soaked and covered in mud, but he was soon reunited with his family.