Dog swims FIVE MILES to shore after jumping off boat to chase ducks and is being reunited with owner

A dog that disappeared after jumping off a boat to chase ducks, swam five miles to shore to be reunited with her owner.

Scott Crewell told NEWS10 that he took Rosie, his Siberian Husky, out for a midnight boat tour of Great Sacandaga Lake near Northville, New York, on Monday. 

The pair were about to head back to shore, so Crewell decided to take off Rosie’s life vest to give her wet fur a chance to dry off. 

Rosie, a Siberian Husky, disappeared on her owner after jumping off a boat to chase ducks at night. While her owner searched for her in vain for hours, Rosie swam five miles to shore

Rosie's owner, Scott Crewell, said that he'd just removed her life vest to let her fur dry off and they were about to head home, when Rosie jumped into the lake to chase ducks  

Rosie’s owner, Scott Crewell, said that he’d just removed her life vest to let her fur dry off and they were about to head home, when Rosie jumped into the lake to chase ducks  

But, just as they were getting ready to go, Crewell said Rosie saw some ducks by the boat and ‘decided she was going to go chase them.’

Rosie, who Crewell said loves chasing all manner of small animals, jumped off the boat and immediately disappeared into the darkness. 

‘I started moving with the boat, listening for the ducks,’ Crewell said. 

‘I could hear them getting further and further away. The direction she was going in was the worst direction on the lake because it was the farthest distance.’

Crewell then enlisted a friend’s help to search the water for Rosie. They looked for the pooch all night and into Tuesday morning. 

He said that after so much time had passed, he eventually got to the point where he ‘wanted to find her one way or another whether it was her floating in the water. I just wanted to find her.’

A local lost pet group was able to help reunite Rosie (pictured  after the ordeal) with Crewell 

A local lost pet group was able to help reunite Rosie (pictured after the ordeal) with Crewell 

The vet said that Rosie was in good shape, although she was tired and weak from her swim. Her eyes were also irritated and she was put on antibiotics and a bland diet

The vet said that Rosie was in good shape, although she was tired and weak from her swim. Her eyes were also irritated and she was put on antibiotics and a bland diet

Crewell said that whenever they're out on the water, he'll be leaving Rosie's life vest on until they reach dry land

Rosie loves to chase after squirrels and ducks among other small animals

Crewell said that whenever they’re out on the water, he’ll be leaving Rosie’s life vest on until they reach dry land, just in case she feels the need to jump in after ducks again

During his search, Crewell turned to his close friend, Steve Caporizzo, coincidentally a NEWS10 meteorologist and local animal advocate, for help in getting the word out about Rosie, in case anyone had found her. 

At 5.33am on Tuesday, Caporizzo posted a missing pet alert about Rosie on his Pet Connection Facebook page.  

The social media alert paid off — a fisherman found Rosie by the shoreline Tuesday morning. 

Caporizzo updated the alert at 3.39pm to say that the fisherman who found Rosie initially thought she was a wolf, until he saw that she was wearing a red harness. He then called his daughter, who happened to have seen Rosie’s missing pet alert online. 

The fisherman’s daughter called Crewell and ‘boats and jet skies made there way to this spot and they found her,’ Caporizzo wrote. 

It turned out that while Crewell was desperately searching for Rosie, she’d been steadily swimming the five miles across the lake, heading for dry land.  

‘I don’t even know how she made it that far. It’s amazing,’ Crewell told the news station while wiping away tears. 

Caporizzo posted yet another update to Rosie’s story on Wednesday, revealing that veterinarians had checked out Rosie. She was tired and weak and her eyes were irritated, but she was otherwise in good shape.  

The vet put Rosie on antibiotics and a bland diet, since she had a hard time keeping food down.   

Going forward, Crewell told NEWS10 that whenever he takes her out on the water, he’ll be keeping Rosie’s life vest on until for the duration, until they’re firmly back on dry land, on the off-chance she decides to jump in after any more ducks.



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