See it: Abandoned pup with tragic past rescued after being stranded for days on Ohio river
The gray-brown terrier mix was spotted desperately huddled against the side of a lake freighter dock, where she barely had enough space to sit and stay dry above the lapping water. But a veterinary assessment found that the pup’s tragic story began well before she found herself over the side of the dock.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – An abandoned dog with a tragic past was saved on Wednesday after a boat crew in northeast Ohio found her stranded on the Cuyahoga River.
The gray-brown terrier mix was spotted desperately huddled against the side of a lake freighter dock, where she barely had enough space to sit and stay dry above the lapping water.
A crewman with Holiday Boat Charters saw the pup while he, his fellow crewmen and their passengers were passing by, according to Captain Bill Bratton with Holiday Boat Charters.
At that point, the crew announced a Man Overboard drill and carefully backed up their boat to the dock where the pup was sitting.
A crewman with Holiday Boat Charters rescuing the pup as she sits over the side of a dock (left); a fishing net is used to safely bring the pup onto the boat. (City of Cleveland Division of Water / FOX Weather)
Bratton and a man with the Cleveland Division of Water then stepped off the boat in an attempt to retrieve the dog. But as Bratton reached out for her, the pup was so wet and oily that she slipped out of his hands, leading the crew to use a fishing net to bring her onboard.
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The pup was then wrapped in a wool blanket and given dog snacks. She was later transported to a veterinary clinic, where medical personnel confirmed that she had no life-threatening injuries.
'They just dumped her'
However, the veterinary assessment found that the pup’s tragic story began well before she found herself on the side of the dock, according to Bratton.
"She had prong collar scars on her where the prong collar had been extremely tight," he said. "They think that she was used for breeding. And after maybe five or six litters, they just dumped her. They just took her down to the river and let her go."
"All it would’ve took was one wrong step, or she may have been chasing something, and she’d just ended up in the river," he noted.
River, after she was rescued. (City of Cleveland Division of Water / FOX Weather)
He added that the veterinary clinic estimates that the pup was stranded on the river for about two days.
Despite this tragic past, the pup appears to have a bright future ahead of her, as she was adopted by Bratton.
"She’s a sweet thing," he said. "And she’s wearing a Cleveland Browns neckerchief."
Bratton noted that he gave her a name in honor of where he found her: River.
For anyone interested in supporting River, Bratton asked people to make a donation in her name to their local rescue and remember to "take a risk and be human."
"We're all God's creatures," he said. "What makes us human is our ability to help, help others."
Passengers and crew on the Holiday Boat Charters vessel that spotted River have given donations to help with her recovery. Bratton noted that Holiday Boat Charters will cover the rest of her medical expenses.