A dog received some welcome help after taking a long swim off the coast of New Jersey recently.
The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office deployed its Marine Unit One over the Independence Day weekend to rescue a 10-year-old Siberian Husky named Caiden, NBC New York reported Wednesday.
In a social media post on Tuesday, the agency detailed the incident:
S/Os Michael Forgione and Kasey Collins rescued Caiden, a 10 year old Siberian Husky who was in distress after he swam approximately 1.5 miles into the bay off Union Beach, separating from his owner. Once the Sheriff’s Officers located Caiden, they brought him on board, navigating shallow waters to reunite him with his grateful owner.
The pup did not appear to be hurt but was, understandably, tired after his outing.
Photos showed the officers caring for the wet but grateful dog aboard the boat following his rescue:
Siberian Huskies gained a lot of attention for winning sledding races in the 1900s, according to the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) website.
Video footage showed several of the dogs pulling a sled in the snow:
Their fame grew even more in 1925 when musher Leonhard Seppala “led a relay of Siberian Huskies 658 miles in only five and a half days to rush a lifesaving serum to Nome, Alaska, where an epidemic of diphtheria had broken out,” the site continued:
The thrilling ‘serum run,’ reported breathlessly in newspapers around the world, won Siberians a popularity that has not abated to this day. Balto, who was Seppala’s lead dog on the final leg of the journey, remains one of the most honored hero dogs in canine history; a statue of him stands in New York City’s Central Park.
In addition to rescuing the dog, Marine Unit One also saw a brush fire ignited by fireworks and helped emergency crews get to the scene.