Another story from Poland....Dog rescued from ice floe in Baltic Sea...Oder , wie kommt der Hund aufs Eis?

Nach Sarah Tucker letztes Jahr im August, nun eine ganz andere Geschichte eines Hundes und seiner Rettung...-
After Sarah Tucker last year in August, now quite a different kind of unusual story with happy ending about a dog and his rescue ...
Ein Hund driftet mindestens 4 Tage lang auf Ostseetreibeis ...-
A dog drifted for at least 4 days on an ice floe in the Baltic Sea...
Das ist Baltic nach seiner Odyssee auf dem Eis. -
That's Baltic, after his odyssey on an ice floe of the Baltic Sea. Auf diesem Foto von Dienstag sieht man Adam Buczynski, Seemann auf der "Baltica" , der den Hund vom Eis geholt hat...

In this photo taken Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010 and made available Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 Adam Buczynski carries a dog found floating cold and alone on an ice floe 15 miles off the Polish Baltic Sea coast in Gdynia, Poland. Buczynski, a sailor from the ship 'Baltic' pulled out the dog from the ice floe.

Dog drifts 75 miles on ice, rescued in Baltic Sea

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA, Associated Press Writer / Thu Jan 28

"WARSAW, Poland – A frightened, shivering dog was rescued after floating at least 75 miles (120 kilometers) on an ice floe down Poland's Vistula River and into the Baltic Sea, officials said Thursday.

Now his saviors just have to figure out who really owns him.

Four people have already claimed him, but so far rescuers say there's been no wagging tail of joy from the miracle dog they nicknamed "Baltic."

The dog's frozen odyssey came as Poland suffers through a winter cold snap, with temperatures dipping to below minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20 Celsius).

The thick-furred male dog was found adrift Monday 15 miles (24 kilometers) out in the Baltic Sea by the crew of the Baltica, a Polish ship of ocean scientists carrying out research.

Researcher Natalia Drgas said Thursday the rescue was difficult and at one point it seemed the dog had drowned.

"It was really a tough struggle. It kept slipping into the water and crawling back on top of the ice. At one point it vanished underwater, under the ship and we thought it was the end, but it emerged again and crawled on an ice sheet," Drgas said.

At that point, the crew lowered a pontoon down to the water and a crew member managed to grab the dog by the scruff of his neck and pull him to safety.

Too weak to shake off the frigid water, Baltic was dried and wrapped in blankets. After he warmed up, he was massaged, fed and soon got on his feet to seek company, Drgas said.

A firefighter in Grudziadz, on the Vistula river 60 miles (100 kilometers) inland from the Bay of Gdansk, told The Associated Press the dog was spotted Saturday floating on ice through the city. Firefighters tried to save him but could not approach the dog due to shifting ice sheets, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Baltica crew, now moored in the port city of Gdynia, have been searching for the dog's owners, ship captain Jerzy Wosachlo said. So far four people have claimed him, but Baltic has not claimed any of them back, Drgas said.

The dog didn't welcome the first two people to come for him, keeping his distance and showing no recognition toward a couple on Wednesday and a woman on Thursday who both said he was theirs. Two other would-be owners were still en route to Gdynia for a possible reunion.

Once in port, the brown-and-black mongrel was taken to a veterinarian, who found him in surprisingly good condition and estimated his age at around 5 or 6 years old. Veterinarian Aleksandra Lawniczak said the 44-pound (20-kilogram) dog was clearly frightened but in strikingly good shape and had suffered no frostbite.

A dog with thick fur and a layer of fat can survive such cold conditions for as long as eight days if it has water to drink, Lawniczak said.

She described Baltic as a friendly dog who was clearly well treated before getting lost.

Wosachlo said the research team is prepared to adopt Baltic if his original owner is never found."

Hier ein Video von Baltics Rettung, leider geht daraus nicht hervor, wwieso der Hund überhaupt aufs Eis kam...-

See here the video of Baltic's rescue which unfortunately does not explain how the dog came to float on the ice in the first place...

Mehr zu Baltic, wenn wir wissen, wann es mit dem Schwanzerkennungswedeln geklappt hat (vielleicht wedelt er ja nur noch , wenn er seine Retter sieht...?))

We will get back to you as soon as we have heard any more recognition-tail-wagging-news ..., maybe he is decided only to wag his tail when seeing his rescuers...?))

Anyway it is a heartwarming story and thanks to everybody involved to rescue this nice looking guy...!!!

Video Source: Huffington Post

Text source & related: The Chronicle Journal, Reuters (incl. video), Brisbane Times (incl.video), yahoo (identic AP story, also incl. a video) , popfi

Photo credits: all AP, the one on yahoo & The Chronicle Journal mentioned photographer Maciej Czoska)