A dramatic ice rescue took place on Lake Erie Tuesday, and thanks to members of a sheriff's helicopter team, a large brown dog named Koozie is now safe and sound. CLICK FOR VIDEO

Koozie was stranded on a chunk of ice drifting on the lake off Westfield, New York. The ice was 300 yards from shore when the rescue crew lifted the dog into the helicopter. Koozie was taken to a local veterinarian's office and is now home with her owners.

The crew was happy they were able to save the dog's life.

"I know some people would say, "It's a dog, why would you do that," said Capt. Kevin Caffery, of the Erie Co. (NY) Sheriff's Aviation Unit.  "We have to train and that's part of our training.  And that's a good opportunity to train and certainly being able to rescue the dog was quite rewarding," he said.

The dog was first spotted on the ice Monday night, but the rescue had to be delayed until Tuesday morning because a nighttime rescue would have been too dangerous.