Terrified little puppy just minutes from death after being locked in a cage by thugs and thrown into freezing lake

A TERRIFIED puppy was left just minutes from death after bneing locked in a cage and hurled into a freezing lake.

The shivering dog was spotted half-submerged in the icy Kaufman Lake in Illinois, US, on Saturday.

Fisherman Bryant Fritz rushed to drag the cage out before rushing her to a vet.

She was diagnosed with cuts and hypothermia, but is expected to make a full recover.

Fritz said: It was about 3 pm when I saw the dog in the lake. “Part of the crate was sticking out of the water.

“The puppy’s head was still above water, but the rest of her body was submerged.

“I am a big dog lover, I have a dog at home. ‘I just saw an animal in need, and I just figured that by the time that somebody else got her it would be too late.

“It was pretty clear when I got the dog out that it had been there for several hours.”

Cops are now trying to track down the dog’s owner.