Dog that escaped Hurricane Ian atop RV rescued 9 days after storm, Florida cops say
A desperate Florida dog that rode out the worst of Hurricane Ian atop an RV may have been stuck there as long as 9 days.
It happened in DeSoto County’s “severely impacted” River Acres community, and rescuers aren’t sure how the dog got that high as “chest-deep waters” covered parts of the county.
Around twenty inches of rain fell when Ian made landfall on Sept 28, creating scenes where “camping trailers bobbed like corks in an oily sea of floodwater,” Reuters reported. Winds in excess of 140 mph were recorded in some areas.
It was more than a week later that someone called the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office to report “a dog who was stranded on the roof of an RV.”
“Thankfully, the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office was able to mobilize the boat and rescue the dog,” according to an Oct. 6 Facebook post. “The dog was turned over to DeSoto County Animal Control where it now has access to water, food, and shelter.”
Black water was still knee-deep around the RV when deputies arrived. Photos show they needed a ladder to reach the roof of the RV and then had to carry the dog to a waiting boat.
He was thin, but showed no other signs of storm-related injuries, DeSoto County officials told McClatchy News.
The dog — a 3-to-4-year-old “black mouth cur and pitbull” mix — has since gained back some of his weight, officials said Oct. 11.
However, no owner has come forward, leaving the dog stuck at the county shelter.
The Facebook post recounting the rescue has gotten more than 800 reactions and comments as of Oct. 12, including from some who wondered if the owners suffered injuries or had yet to return from evacuating.
Others noted it’s easy to miss a dog atop an RV amid chaos that includes cattle roaming freely.
“He must have been starving,” Dianna Bruso wrote on the sheriff’s office Facebook page.
“Don’t understand how anyone could just up n leave there dog behind. I would have been on that roof too had it been me,” Chèryl Tyner posted.
“Such sadness all around. Animals starving, lost, hurt. And the same for so many people,” Myra Cook said.
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