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'Don't Jump!': 180-Pound St. Bernard Rescued From Rooftop

SPRING LAKE PARK, Minn. (WCCO) -- Firefighters in the north metro say it was a call unlike any they've ever received.

A dog was stranded on a Spring Lake Park roof Friday night. Firefighters didn't know just how complicated the situation was until they got on scene.

There are many words to describe 5-year-old Whisky.

"He's a big ole hairy, lovable, slobbery St. Bernard, but he's a great dog," said Renee Roth.

Whisky is her grand-dog.

She's dog sitting as her son trains in the National Guard.

Roth was fulfilling her duty Friday night, making dinner when she heard a ruckus upstairs.

"I ran up to see what was happening and the dog wasn't in there and I assumed the worst," she said.

It wasn't worst case scenario, but it certainly could have been better. Whisky, who weighs 180 pounds, had knocked out the screen and jumped through the window.

Thankfully, he landed on this small patch of roof.

"He was standing there and he kept looking over at the garage, and I'm like 'Don't jump!" Roth said.

She called the fire department, telling officials that a there was a "St. Bernard on the roof."

"We do occasionally get the cat-in-the-tree call, but dog on a roof, not so much," said Lt. Anthony Scavo of Spring Lake Park-Mounds View Fire Department.

To rescue Whiskey, firefighters had to remove the entire window so that the dog could get through.

"It was an effort of pushing from the outside and pulling from the inside, and once Whisky figured out what we were doing, I think he kind of cooperated and jumped through," Battalion chief Jeremiah Anderson said. "It all happened pretty quick."

Roth says she simply couldn't have helped Whisky if it wasn't for the firefighters and she is extremely grateful.

Come September, Whisky is going to need a dog sitter again, as his owner is being deployed for 10 months.

They are hoping to find a foster family for Whisky.

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