Dog swims 5 miles to safety after jumping off boat
NORTHVILLE, N.Y. (WTEN) — After his dog jumped off his boat- a local man feared his pet was gone forever but, thankfully this pooch knew much more than the “doggy paddle”.
Meet Rosie, a friendly pooch who loves to chase everything.
“Rabbits, squirrels, everything.”
It was Rosie’s passion for chasing ducks that got the Siberian Husky into deep trouble Monday night while out on the Great Sacandaga.
Rosie and her human Scott Crewell were taking a midnight tour. Rosie’s coat was wet, so Scott removed her life vest to dry it.
“So I took it off just for the ride back in and as I was getting ready to leave, some ducks were by the boat and she heard them and decided she was going to go chase them.”
Scott lost sight of her in the darkness.
“I started moving with the boat, listening for the ducks. I could hear them getting further and further away. The direction she was going in was the worst direction on the lake because it was the farthest distance.”
Scott and a friend kept searching throughout the night and past daybreak.
“It was tough. It came to a point that I wanted to find her one way or another whether it was her floating in the water. I just wanted to find her.”
That’s when he reached out to a good friend.
“I called my friend Steve.”
Steve, just happens to be NEWS10 ABC Meteorologist and Animal Advocate Steve Caporizzo. He posted an urgent message on his Pet Connection Facebook Page.
In the meantime, Scott kept searching and there was just nothing.
What Scott didn’t know then is that Rosie is an amazing swimmer. Alone and in the dark Rosie ended up swimming five miles to reach the shoreline.
That’s where a fisherman, who had heard about Steve’s Facebook post and Rosie’s plight, spotted the wet and exhausted dog on the shoreline.
Other Good Samaritans got a hold of her harness and she was then eventually reunited with Scott.
“I don’t even know how she made it that far. It’s amazing.”
The vet says all but for a bit of an eye irritation, the dog’s in pretty good shape. Albeit, she’s very tired.
Scott says from here on out, Rosie will only ride the waves strapped into her life vest, just in case she encounters any other ducks.
“No more ducks for you, right?!”