Retrieving A Retriever From The Pootatuck

By Andrew Gorosko

An injured, wet, and anxious dog became the focus of local firefighters’ and divers’ rescue efforts January 13, after the mixed-breed golden retriever found itself trapped upon a boulder amid the cold rushing waters of the Pootatuck River in Sandy Hook Center.

Just before 11 am on the foggy morning, police received a call reporting that a stray dog was causing a nuisance in the area near the Subway sandwich shop at 117 Church Hill Road.

The dog named “Nala” apparently had gotten loose from 109 Church Hill Road and then wandered away, police said.

Police, who handle local dog problems, went to Sandy Hook Center to investigate.

“The dog was found sitting on a riverbank behind the Subway sandwich shop,” police Officer Louis Ferreira noted in a report. The animal’s left front paw apparently was injured, as evidenced by bloodstains in the snow atop a wall overlooking the river, where the dog had stood.

As police attempted to capture the roaming animal, it became agitated and jumped downward into the river.

After entering the cold rushing river, which was fed by rapidly melting snow, the dog swam over to a large rock. The animal became stranded on the boulder amid the surging current.

Realizing that quickly retrieving the retriever was necessary due to hypothermia risks posed by the cold water, police summoned aid in the form of Newtown Underwater Search and Rescue, firefighters from Sandy Hook and from Newtown Hook & Ladder, and also the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

After arriving, several emergency personnel donned waterproof suits and slowly and carefully made their way across the rushing river. The men were tethered with lines attached to points on shore as a safety measure, in the event that they slipped and fell on the slippery boulder-strewn riverbed.

Guided by its yellow-suited guardians, the dog slowly made its way to the rocky shore on the east side of the river. Police then moved the cold, wet canine up a flight of masonry steps alongside to the river, reuniting it with its handler.

Police noted that it was the second time that the dog was rescued from the river within the past month.

Police said they instructed Michael Daubert, 42, of New Haven, who had been watching the animal for its owner, to bring the animal to a veterinarian for a medical check. Police said they issued Daubert an infraction ticket on a charge of allowing a dog to roam.