‘Life jacket saved his life’: Golden retriever reunited with family after missing in boat accident
Kim and Jeff Wiseman of Charleston, South Carolina share how Rocky, their golden retriever puppy was lost in a boating accident and was eventually found days later thanks to his life vest and social media support.
Rocky the Golden Retriever He has been reunited with his family after being missing for two days following a boating accident in Charleston.
Rocky’s parents, Jeff and Kim Wiseman, are thanking their community on social media, donating his doggy life jacket and Charleston Animal Society to return to his safe home.
On the night of June 23, Jeff went out on their boat with Rocky on the Ashley River. Rocky wore his special the dog A life jacket for the boat, which Wiseman says he “loves.”
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FILE – Rocky, a golden retriever in Charleston, was lost for two days after a boating accident before being found in a local backyard thanks to social media posts and his life jacket. (Kim Wiseman via Facebook)
“We ran down the river, jumped in the water and swam a little bit,” Jeff described the evening in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“And then on the way back, I was taking pictures of it with my phone and I went right farther than I realized — he was careless — and hit this old pier-like concrete structure down by the river… I went in. The water, I’m sure Rocky was in the water too Back in the boatHe wasn’t there.”
“He was nowhere to be seen, and I broke seven ribs and, you know, a lot of other injuries, but they said seven ribs. When EMS showed up, they rushed me to the hospital.”
Once Jeff was taken to the hospital, Kim says emergency responders searched for Rocky but had to call around 8:30 p.m. “At that time, at that time I,” said Kim Went to FacebookJust my own personal Facebook page, and told friends to be on the lookout for Rocky.”
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Kim added, “When I went back to the site the next morning, there were already people in the water stopping and searching… I never imagined what the response from the community would be when I posted just an hour after the accident. was.”
After two nights of searching, many had given up hope. However, Wiseman hoped that Rocky would be found because of his life jacket. “We really think it saved his life,” shared Kim.
FILE – Rocky, a golden retriever in Charleston, was lost for two days after a boating accident before being found in a local backyard thanks to social media posts and his life jacket. (Kim Wiseman via Facebook)
After finding himself miles away from the original boat crash site, Rocky was finally found on the morning of June 25 in a family backyard thanks to his social media celebrity.
Kim said of their reunion, “It felt like a miracle, honestly, because he was missing for two nights and we didn’t know if he was injured in the crash. Jeff obviously was, so to find out.” … Not only had he survived the crash and the days and two nights of swimming in the river — one of which was a storm — it felt like a miracle.”
FILE – Rocky, a golden retriever in Charleston, was lost for two days after a boating accident before being found in a local backyard thanks to social media posts and his life jacket. (Kim Wiseman via Facebook)
“We were overjoyed. We were incredibly overjoyed and so, so grateful to everyone who helped find it and helped spread the word,” Kim added.
Keeping pets safe in summer is no easy feat. The Charleston Animal Society urges all boaters to purchase life vests for pets. In an interview with Fox News Digital, the Charleston Animal Society said, “If you go in a boat, your children Life vests are to be worn. Even your dogs should wear life vests.”
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Meanwhile as Rocky recovers, his family says, “He’s getting back to his old self… He’s just a fun-loving, happy little dog. He loves everybody.”