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SAGINAW COUNTY, Michigan (WNEM) – Rescued from an island, a dog is now safe in the hands of a shelter in central Michigan.
A participant in the Freeland Walleye Festival spotted the dog on Sunday on Green Point Island, where the Saginaw River branches off the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee rivers.
Robert Debolt intended to play a part during the festival one big Sunday afternoon, but something else struck him.
“We were on the Shiawassee River and of course we were drifting into pikeperch and saw an animal ashore,” said Debolt.
A dog stranded on Green Point Island.
“My buddy whistled at her and she stayed there and we got closer to the coast and she ran,” said Debolt.
The moment stayed with him all night and the next day. Concerned about the dog’s survivability, he called for help.
“I knew if she was left there she would die,” said Debolt.
Saginaw County Animal Care and Control worked with the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Department, went to the island and discovered the dog. The officials set a trap of food on Tuesday evening.
They received a call on Wednesday from someone who reported incessant barking on the island. The trap had worked.
“We are happy to announce that we have taken possession of the dog. She is a very good bitch. She looks like she had a tough life. She is full of scars and spots,” said Bonnie Kanicki, Animal care and control director of the Saginaw district.
The rescuers called her “river” and she had neither a microchip nor a collar. Kanicki thinks she has been abandoned.
“The island is where it is highly unlikely that the dog would have been able to swim out there on its own,” said Kanicki.
Investigators are trying to track down the dog’s owner and based on what they can learn, it is possible that the river could be opened up for adoption.
She already has a family ready to welcome her with open arms.
“My buddy Eric, who was with us, will adopt her as soon as she is ready to leave the facility. We will not let her go, we will keep her in the family, ”said Debolt.
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