What a wonderful Christmas story. I am so glad he came home and was OK, I can only imagine how awful your friend must have felt, thinking he was lost, injured and freezing. Nice to hear a really great happy ending.
That guy is my hero! We met a man a few years ago with a 3-legged lab, he had dived in and fought a gator to save his dog. The dog lost a front leg (Gators have really nasty mouths) but was happy and healthy…and alive!