Dog drifting on Baltic Sea ice floe rescued by Polish ship, now dilemma over finding his owner

Poland: Dog adrift on ice saved from Baltic Sea

WARSAW, Poland — A frightened, shivering dog has been rescued from the Baltic Sea after floating alone on an ice floe 15 miles (24 kilometers) off the Polish coast. Now his seamen 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 nicknamed “Baltic.”

His frozen saga comes as Poland suffers through a winter cold snap where temperatures have dipped to -15 Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit).

The thick-furred male dog was found adrift Monday by the crew of the Baltica, a Polish ship of sea scientists carrying out research in the Baltic Sea. Natalia Drgas, a oceanologist with the Baltica crew, said 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 drag him to safety.

A firefighter on duty in Grudziadz, on the Vistula river 62 miles (100 kilometers) from the Bay of Gdansk, told The Associated Press the dog was spotted floating on ice through the city on Saturday. Firefighters tried to save the dog but could not approach it on the shifting ice sheets, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Baltica crew, since moored in the port city of Gdynia, have named the dog “Baltic” as they search for his owners, ship captain Jerzy Wosachlo said.

But Drgas said so far four people have claimed him — and Baltic has not claimed any of them back.

The dog didn’t recognized the first two people to come for him, keeping his distance and showing no recognition to a couple on Wednesday and a woman on Thursday who both said he was theirs.

Two other would-be dog owners were still on their way to Gdynia on Thursday for a possible reunion.

A veterinarian who examined him Monday after he was brought to shore, Aleksandra Lawniczak, said the dog was clearly frightened but in strikingly good shape and had suffered no frostbite.

She described him 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.