An adorable, scruffy miniature poodle mix found struggling to stay afloat in North Carolina’s French Broad River is safe thanks to two Good Samaritans.
According to an account shared by the Asheville Humane Society on Facebook, two women watched in shock as the poodle puppy ran by them “as if something had scared him” and tumbled into the water on Jan 9.
The women reported the incident to the Asheville Humane Society, “but within minutes, the miniature poodle mix began to go under the water” in the river’s “turbulent currents.” One of the women jumped into the water and saved the dog before he was swept away.
“It had stormed the previous day, so the river level was high with powerful currents. The water was freezing,” explained Becky Doty, an animal control officer in Asheville, on the shelter’s social media post. “He was very lucky that the two women were there. They are heroes.”
Officer Doty picked up the puppy from his rescuers and brought him to the humane society, where he was given a complete medical evaluation and was found to be unscathed by the frightening incident. With a clean bill of health, the dog moved into a foster home.
“When we took him in, he was traumatized and shaking with fright,” the dog’s foster parent, Peter, recounted to the shelter.
After the dog’s rescue started getting attention from media outlets, the dog’s owner was located. The pet parent, who was searching for the missing poodle, named Benzo, reunited with the pup on Thursday.
“He is now safe and sound with a new microchip to prevent any more misadventures,” wrote the Asheville Humane Society in a Facebook post on Friday.
“Microchips are your pet’s return address!” the shelter added, encouraging followers to get their pets microchipped to increase the chance of reunification.
