Animals

Dog Gets Second Chance After Nearly Drowning

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Animal Services Officer Gina Raygosa had never been to this rural corner of the backcountry when she got the call May 17 to help a dog in distress.

She raced to Honey Springs and Lyons Valley roads in Jamul, near Barrett Lake.

What Raygosa found was a six-year-old-mixed breed Collie barely alive. Dory, as she came to be called by the County’s Department of Animal Services staff, was bleeding, choking up water and not walking.

A week later—this past Friday—Dory had recovered and been adopted.

In between, though, was a harrowing story of a dog nearly drowning and a team effort to save her life.

Earlier that Friday, May 17, an employee at Barrett Lake, a city of San Diego reservoir, had pulled Dory from a canal. He found her almost completely submerged under five to six feet of water. Water pressure pushed the dog against a grate, and she apparently had tried unsuccessfully to hoist herself up and out onto dry land, said Dan DeSousa, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Services.

Only the tip of Dory’s snout poked out of the water when the employee spotted her. It’s not clear how long she was there struggling—potentially half a day, DeSousa said.

Raygosa arrived and quickly assessed the situation. She determined Dory was alert, but could barely walk. Her nails were bleeding from all four paws. So Raygosa picked the nearly 50 lb. dog up and carried Dory to her truck.

“It was the least I could do for her,” Raygosa said.

Raygosa called the County’s animal care center in Bonita to let them know they were on the way, so the veterinary staff could immediately focus on Dory when they arrived. And that’s exactly what happened.

The vet who first treated Dory described her as being in a great deal of pain, and unwilling to move. She was soaking wet, bleeding from her nails on all four paws, and her fur matted with environmental debris. The staff gave her painkillers and she rested for a few days.

Slowly, she started showing signs of improvement. Dory soaked up attention from the staff and became a favorite in her weeklong stay with the County’s Department of Animal Services. She loved to get belly rubs and eventually made a full recovery.

Now she’ll have a permanent friend to rub her belly—and make sure she never gets lost again. This past Friday, El Cajon resident Wayne Newland adopted Dory.

For more information on what the Department of Animal Services does or to check out which animals are available for adoption, visit the department’s website.