JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. – A woman and dog are both in critical condition after falling through the ice on a small pond Sunday afternoon.

According to West Metro Fire Rescue, the call came in at 12:27 p.m near Colorado Academy. It took the crew six minutes to get to the pond and two minutes to get the woman out of the water.

“When you first hit very, very cold water there is a reflex that all mammals have that basically all shut down so breathing is difficult, any kind of movement is difficult as the time goes on,” West Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson Ronda Scholting said.

Scholting says the crew had some difficulty with the rescue due to the conditions on the water. She described the ice as “relatively thin, about two inches thick but that ice was not solid. It was kind of slushy in some places and then more solid in others.”

“When they went out to rescue this woman today they were trying to bring her back to shore and the ice kept breaking,” Scholting said.

It is unclear why the woman and dog were on the ice to begin with.

“Usually what we see in these cases when there’s a dog on the ice, the dog has chased the geese, a bird on the ice and then the owner goes out after that animal,” Scholting said.

If you see an animal fall through the ice, you should call 911 immediately. Do not go onto the ice.

“Don’t go our yourself because you never know how solid that ice is, how thick it is and honestly people love their pets but if it will not hold your dog, it will not hold you,” Scholting said.

According to West Metro Fire Rescue, dogs can stay in freezing water longer than a human.

“Dogs are able to be able to adapt to that very cold environment and we can more easily rescue a dog. A dog can be on the water longer than a human can,” Scholting said.

This is the first ice rescue of the year for West Metro Fire Rescue.