New York City harbor police have rescued a dog after it was seen swimming two miles offshore.
The German Shepherd, Charlie, was imported to the US from a breeder in the Czech Republic, and his owner had just picked him up at JFK Friday night. Irina Frid says she blames jetlag and stress for Charlie’s decision to bolt through the front gate of her Manhattan Beach home as she was closing it Monday evening.
Frid jokes that Charlie decided to swim back to the Czech Republic. He ran straight for the water and dove in, swimming straight out to sea as Frid and a neighbor watched him bobbing and paddling for the horizon. Frid said she was helpless and heartbroken.
The young dog swam for forty minutes and had nearly disappeared from view when Frid noticed a boat approaching Charlie. NYPD officers Benjamin Reiver and Edward Carr had noticed the dog while on patrol and knew they had to act quickly. Charlie was exhausted and had stopped paddling. He was floating and just holding his snout above water as the officers used a dog noose to haul him to safety.
Frid met the police boat at a Kingsboro College dock, where she tackled Charlie and kissed him. According to the New York Daily News Charlie wasn’t the only one to get a smooch. She asked the two harbor cops if she could give them kisses too.
“Okay, if your husband allows it,” they told her.
“I told them to come to my house anytime for barbecue,” she added. “You’re like a godfather to Charlie now.”
Charlie showed signs of exhaustion but was in good condition otherwise.
