Cops return lost dog
Golden Retriever Missing for 16 Days Found Swimming Along the Jersey Shore, Rescued by State Police
Chunk, who had been missing since June 6, was reunited with his owners on June 22
As they were preparing for their shift Tuesday morning at 7 a.m., New Jersey State Police Troopers Ryan Koehler and Vincent Ferdinandi received an unusual call: a golden retriever was spotted swimming in Barnegat Bay on the Jersey Shore and needed rescuing.
The officers jumped into a 22-ft. Zodiac boat to motor to the dog, who was about 75 yards from shore, Ferdinandi tells PEOPLE. They gently guided the pup to land, and used a line of rope to lift him onto a dock behind a house.
"He was extremely tired," says Ferdinandi. "Definitely malnourished, hungry."
And for good reason. On June 6, Chunk, 3, was playing fetch with owners Marie and James Zangara when he apparently got spooked and ran off into the woods, Ferdinandi shares.
Since that Sunday when Chunk disappeared from home, a search mission involving social media, local police departments, baited traps, hound hunters and trail cameras has been underway, the trooper says.
Then early Tuesday morning, two joggers on the Mantoloking Bridge spotted Chunk; when they attempted to grab him, though, he jumped into the water, Ferdinandi says. By the time he was rescued, he'd swum nearly two miles across the bay.
Once on land, Chunk appeared scared of the troopers - "he kind of backed away from us," says Ferdinandi. But the pair kept Chunk securely by their sides until the dog's family arrived.
"To see the sigh of relief that a part of their family was back was unbelievable, and the dog was happy to see his family as well," says Ferdinandi.
