A dog miraculously dragged from the middle of the Fraser River by two marina staff is safe, well and looking for its owner.
The white purebred German shepherd was first spotted floating, but in distress, in the middle arm of the river around 8:30 a.m. Friday morning.
Bela Vigh, manager at Skyline Marina, along with employee Austin Holland, first spotted the dog quite a distance away before grabbing a dinghy and rescued the dog near the BCIT campus.
At first we thought it was a log or a bird, but then we snatched some binoculars and saw two white ears sticking out of the water, said Vigh. When we finally got to him, he was completely confused and scared.
The two men had a hard time getting the dog into the skiff but after a few attempts finally managed to get him in.
He was shivering and looked exhausted, he added. His face was caked in mud so we washed him up a bit and bought him some dog food.
He ate all the food but didnt drink any water maybe he had enough in the river.
The two rescuers then called the Richmond Animal Protection Society (RAPS).
It appears the current was quite strong at the time, said RAPS animal control officer Shane Burnham.
Burnham said the young dog, which is quite thin but doesn't appear to have been neglected, had no identification tags or tattoo but did have a microchip.
The staff finally tracked down the company the chip was from but unfortunately no information was in the data base about the dogs owner, said Burnham. If dog owners dont keep the information up to date, the microchip is useless.
RAPS is still trying to determine how the dog wound up in the water. Despite his ordeal, staff at the agency said the dog is pretty happy, although hes a little skittish and stand-offish.
If you recognize this dog, you are asked to contact RAPS at 604-275-2036.
