Puppy Rescued from Freezing Waters in Jamaica Bay, New York
A couple of good samaritans teamed up with the NYPD to save a puppy from the freezing waters in Jamaica Bay, New York, on Wednesday.
Carol DeNaro and her husband Scott DeNaro spotted the dog, named Georgia, far out from the shore, struggling to keep afloat and immediately flagged down the harbor patrol, they told the New York Daily News.
"My husband said, 'What is that in the water? It looks like a seal!' " Carol told the Daily News.
"And we kind of watched for a minute or two [before] he [Scott] said, 'No, maybe it's a duck because it's bobbing up and down.' And then I said, 'Oh my God, I think it's a dog!' And then we just kind of went into rescue mode."
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The NYPD posted about the incident on Twitter, saying that the pup was immediately rescued and taken to the vet once officers were notified of the situation.
In a follow up tweet, the NYPD said that Georgia — whom they initially called Tinkerbell, which was her name before adoption according to the Daily News — was reunited with her family.
While patrolling the #NYC waters a few minutes ago, our #Harbor members spotted this dog frantically trying to keep afloat in Jamaica Bay
They quickly pulled the dog from the freezing water, wrapped him up & immediately brought him to a local vet#RuffMorning
Updates to follow pic.twitter.com/7iBxplCmTy— NYPD Special Ops (@NYPDSpecialops) January 20, 2021
"A happy ending to a cold wet morning," the tweet read.
Georgia's owners, Jason Novetsky and Karen Dublin, had just adopted the shepherd mix puppy five days earlier, they told the Daily News.
UPDATE
A happy ending to a cold wet morning
After failing her physical for the #SCUBA Team, Tinkerbell has been reunited with her owner Jason
Tinkerbell is in great health & is looking forward to sleeping all day
Thanks to our Harbor members for making this reunion paw-ssible pic.twitter.com/mylSj4wh2H— NYPD Special Ops (@NYPDSpecialops) January 20, 2021
While they were out on a walk, Georgia was startled and managed to get off of her leash, Novetsky said.
"And I tried to remain really calm … I kneeled down and used my sweetest voice to try and calm her down. And she just decided to run," he told the Daily News.
Novetsky said he chased Georgia for 40 blocks, but he eventually lost her. He and Dublin immediately posted her photo on Facebook and began asking passersby if they'd seen the pup, they said.
Luckily, within minutes, Dublin got a call from the NYPD that Georgia had been pulled out of Jamaica Bay.
"We're just so happy she's home," Dublin said.
