Woolwich firefighter Mike Thiboutot and wife Heidi are hopeful Monday morning that their chocolate lab Maddie, 7, will be found OK after she and one of the Wiscasset couple’s other dogs went missing near their Montsweag Valley Road home in the Montsweag Brook area Sunday night. Mike Thiboutot said he could hear Tyson, aka Tubby, their black lab, breathing in the brook after the couple discovered they were missing. Tyson had fallen through the ice. Thiboutot went in and rescued him.

Thiboutot said the brook’s height  varies and he was surprised at how deep it was. His boots filled up pretty quickly, he said. Wiscasset Ambulance Service Director Toby Martin and another member of the service checked him out and he did not have to go to a hospital, Thiboutot continued in Monday’s phone interview.

Wiscasset fire and police departments also responded. Fire Chief T.J. Merry said they were on-scene from about 10:30 p.m. to midnight. They used thermal imaging equipment to try to locate the other dog; the steep, snow-covered banking was a challenge, Merry said.

Thiboutot thinks Maddie may be on the Woowich side of the brook. He has taken multiple drives along there overnight looking for her. He asked that anyone who has information that could help please call Heidi Thiboutot at 841-6872.

The couple had believed all three of their dogs were in the house and realized two were not after seeing that their third dog was wet.

Mike Thiboutot expressed his thanks for the excellent response from Wiscasset. He knew most of those who came to help Sunday night, through his service on the Woolwich department.