The thick mud being dredged up at the pond poses a challenge to everything it comes in contact with—from equipment to pets. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

The New Year started badly for Samantha. Some time on Monday, Jan. 2, the friendly golden retriever became trapped far from shore in the mud flats exposed by the drawdown of Bare Hill Pond. Unseasonably warm weather had left only a thin crust of frost—not enough to support the dog's weight—covering the deep, sticky muck beneath.

Samantha's owner, Tracy Kraus, realized that the dog was missing around noon and began to search for her. Although Samantha has a shock collar, she sometimes breaks through the invisible fence around the Kraus family's Whitman Road yard.

Kraus went to the pond, where Samantha often visited the men who are dredging the swimming area. No workers were there that Monday, however, because of the holiday. Kraus walked around the shoreline but saw no sign of her dog.

Kraus next searched streets in the neighborhood to no avail. She also reported her missing pet to dog officer Paul Willard.

Night fell and Samantha had not returned. With a change in the weather, temperatures dropped into the single digits.

Tuesday morning, Kraus went back to the pond and talked to the men from CRC, Inc., of Quincy, who were working on the dredging operations. They knew Samantha well and promised to watch for the retriever.

Not long afterward, CRC employee Michael Nally of Hingham caught a glimpse of something white out near Blueberry Island. He realized it was Samantha's white face, barely noticeable above the mud.

Nally walked across the expanse of mud to the trapped dog and tried to free her.

"It was like she was held in suction," he said. "She was working her hind legs, trying to get free, and it was just getting her in deeper."

Soon Nally's own legs were sinking into the muck.

"I was kind of panicking, trying to pull her out," he said.

Eventually, Nally succeeded in freeing both Samantha and himself from the ooze. The muddy hole where the dog had been trapped steamed in the frigid air, he said. Nally hypothesized that only the warmth provided by the mud had saved Samantha from the bitter cold of the previous night.

The novelty of walking across an area that is usually under water is undeniably tempting. Nally says that he has seen other dogs and their owners stroll across the barely frozen mud flats. But, in this unusually warm winter, the temptation could lead both animals and humans into danger.

To date, police have not received any reports of people in difficulty or danger on the exposed pond bottom. But at least one other dog has run into trouble with mud at the pond. Juno, a young German shepherd belonging to the Aciukewicz family, was running in the woods near the pond. Tom Aciukewicz called her, and when she did not appear, he went to look for her. She had tried to come to him across the pile of muddy dredging in the parking area above the pond and was struggling in the mud.

"She was sinking every step of the way," Aciukewicz said.

Aciukewicz went to the edge of the pile nearest to Juno and kept encouraging her to come to him. Because she is young and has lots of energy, he said, she was able to work her way out.

Aciukewicz added, "People should be careful with their pets and themselves. When that mud thaws it's like quicksand."

As for Samantha, she is slowly recovering. Kraus said the dog was weary and had difficulty walking for about a week after her exhausting ordeal, but the family hopes she will soon be back to her old self.