NYPD Rescues Missing Dog Spotted Swimming In Gravesend Bay

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A heartsick family in Brooklyn was thanking their lucky stars – and the NYPD – Friday night after officers brought their missing canine companion home.

As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, the unusually playful pup was not up to his usual tricks Friday night, after pulling a stunt that had his owners worried sick.

"He's my best friend. I mean, I'm a single guy; don't have kids yet, so all my time I can, I spend it with him," said dog owner Miguel Vazquez. "We go running – it's just a routine we have every day."

But Thursday morning, the family dog - a year-and-a-half old white German shepherd named Chase – broke that routine and ran away.

Vazquez said the dog had never done any such thing before.

Miguel Vazquez and his brother Francisco think the dog got spooked by storms the night before, squeezed through a fence, and took off.

"It was really, really like empty, because when we get here, the dog is always just waiting for us at the door," said Francisco Vazquez.

The family posted about the missing pup on Facebook, and hours later, they got a call that the NYPD had discovered the dog in Gravesend Bay -- a couple miles from their Brooklyn home.

The family said when officers spotted the dog around 6:30 a.m. Friday, he was in the water a half mile from land struggling to stay afloat. A 911 caller had directed the officers' attention to the dog.

"He was tired. He was having trouble keeping his head up," Miguel Vazquez said.

After rescuing the dog, police learned of Chase's identity through Facebook. The Vazquezes' Facebook posting described Chase as having a pink nose and said he's "scared of rain, lightning and thunder.''

The family had no idea how Chase made it so many miles. But they were thanking the power of social media and the NYPD for a reunion they'll always remember.

Of the officers, Francisco Vazquez said, "They don't get enough credit, honestly."

Now that Chase is back in the arms of his best friends, Miguel Vazquez said, "It was just the happiest time of my life."

The family said Chase was very, very thirsty when he got home. They took him to the vet and were told he was in good health.

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