WRENTHAM -- Just 1 1 / sub 2 weeks after a Rehoboth man died trying to save a dog stranded on thin ice, firefighters were called Tuesday to pull another dog from a frigid pond off Interstate 495.

The incident occurred about 2 p.m. at a pond bordered by I-495, Whip-Poor-Will Circle and Ingrid Drive, prompting Wrentham Fire Chief Robert Morrill to warn pet owners to keep a close eye on their pets and to stay off icy ponds.

`` Dogs don't know they can't go on the ice,'' Morrill said. `` It's just very important that pet owners know where their pets are and don't let them run free near water.''

In Tuesday's incident, firefighters arrived to find a golden retriever named Barkley `` holding on with his front two paws'' about 20 feet into the pond.

Firefighter-paramedic Robert Maduskuie, wearing a cold-resistant wet suit, slid toward the dog on his belly, fell through the ice, regained his balance, then broke the ice in front of him to reach the dog, Morrill said. Firefighters wrapped the dog in a towel, then handed it to his owner, who lives nearby on Chestnut Street, Morrill said.

The rescue took 30 minutes.

Morrill said he had to stop a neighbor who had brought a ladder to the edge of the ice, intending to try his own rescue.

`` I was thinking about making sure that no civilians or public safety people were injured trying to save that dog,'' Morrill said. `` I said, `No. You can't go out. The dog will be fine.'''

A Rehoboth man died Feb. 25 while trying to rescue his dog from ice on a small pond behind his home.

Ralph Eaton, 49, of 40 Water St., followed the dog and fell into the frigid water.

He died at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence later that day.

Morrill said another dog fell through thin ice in Wrentham last week.

Pet owners should be mindful of their animals at this time of year, he said.

MICHAEL GELBWASSER can be reached at 508-236-0372 or at mgelbwasser@thesunchronicle.com.