As they prepared for their shift at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, New Jersey State Police Troopers Ryan Koehler and Vincent Ferdinandi received an unexpected call—a golden retriever had been spotted swimming in Barnegat Bay along the Jersey Shore and needed rescuing.
The officers quickly responded, using a 22-foot Zodiac boat to reach the dog, who was about 75 yards from shore. With the help of a rope line, they gently guided the pup toward land and lifted him onto a pier behind a nearby house.
“He was exhausted,” Ferdinandi said. “Clearly malnourished and very hungry.”
And for good reason. According to Ferdinandi, the 3-year-old retriever, named Chunk, had been playing fetch with his owners, Marie and James Zangara, on June 6 when he became frightened and ran into the woods.
A widespread search effort was launched, utilizing social media, local police departments, baited traps, dog hunters, and trail cameras to locate Chunk after he went missing that Sunday.
Early Tuesday morning, two joggers on the Mantoloking Bridge spotted Chunk, but when they attempted to approach him, he jumped into the water. By the time he was rescued, he had swum more than two kilometers across the bay.
Once on land, Chunk appeared hesitant and nervous around the troopers. “He kind of backed away from us,” Ferdinandi recalled. However, the officers ensured his safety until his relieved family arrived.
Koehler, a 16-year veteran of the force and the owner of a rescue Lab/shepherd mix, deeply empathized with the situation. “I completely understand how devastating it would be to have a dog missing for two weeks,” he said.
The New Jersey State Police shared the uplifting news on their Facebook page early Tuesday, where the post has since been shared over 6,000 times.
