Man Strips to His Shorts to Save 2 Dogs From Frozen New York Reservoir

Timofey Yuriev stripped down to his shorts and cut a path through the ice.

A fearless passer-by jumped into frigid waters to save two dogs fighting for their lives after they fell through the ice.

Stripped to just his shorts and with his own golden retriever at his side, Timofey Yuriev cut a path right through the ice on Irvington Reservoir, New York, after spotting the animals on Saturday. With the ice broken, the two dogs were able to swim to safety.

Their owner watched anxiously from the edge. "I'm the luckiest person in the world," she is heard saying in video of the rescue.

But Yuriev was more than ready for the challenge: It turns out he's from Siberia.

"We had to prepare ourselves and our people for these kind of conditions," he told Inside Edition.

He said there's a pressure point on his arm that lets him stay warm in the water.

"It sort of activates your nervous system," he said.

Inside Edition's Steven Fabian put it to the test. They climbed into the water, where Yuriev encouraged him to control his breathing.

"Oh man, I am freezing!" Fabian said.

RELATED STORIES