NYPD rescues lucky dog from East River; searches for its owner or adopter
A trio of Harbor Unit officers who responded to the 911 call Sunday morning spoke at a press conference at the Brooklyn Army Terminal about the retrieval of the small white pooch from the frigid waters off the South Street Seaport.
'We happened to be not too far away at the time and, as we approached, we saw a woman kind of waving and pointing to a sailboat that was docked in the water,' said Jared Desalvo, a 10-year NYPD veteran.
'As we got closer, you can see there is a small white object,' he said. 'And when we got even closer, we could tell it was a white dog with a pink harness.'
Desalvo noted the delicate nature of the rescue, adding it was made difficult because the frightened Maltese was swimming in circles.
'It's definitely an urgent situation,' he said. 'It's a small dog, the water can be a little rough over there and it's even difficult for person to even swim in there.'
Despite wearing a harness, there were no collar or tags on the dog, and it had not been microchipped. How the pup got into the water remains a mystery, Desalvo said.
'It's a tough spot over there because there is no place to get easily in or out of the water for anybody because it's just high piers,' he said.
Officer Jenny Driscoll, another 10-year veteran of the NYPD, said the drenched pooch was visibly glad to be in the rescue boat.
'When we got it out of there it looked relieved,' she said.
Officer Joseph Pascone, who also has been with the NYPD for 10 years, said the little Maltese looked fatigued and was shivering when they were finally able to get it inside the boat.
'When we first see it, I was thinking where did it come from?' he said. 'Because that area, there's no way for a dog to get into the water. So I was thinking, where did it come from and how long it has been there?
'When we seen it close up, it looked very tired, so it seems it was in there for a little while,' he said.
Pascone expressed gratitude to the good Samaritan who called 911.
'We want to thank the person who called,' he said. 'If he or she didn't call, we might have not seen the dog. So it's a good thing when the community sees something, they say something. It helps us out a lot.'
The pooch was initially passed off to the 1st Precinct and then brought to the East Harlem location of the Animal Care Centers of NYC. The owner of the dog is currently being sought, Pascone said. After a waiting period the dog will be available for adoption.
'Hopefully, it gets reunited with the owner,' Pascone said. 'If not, it goes to a loving family.'
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