According to FOX 61, who reported the story, a family was boating with their the dog off the coast of Noank, Connecticut, on Sunday when the 8-month-old Shiba Inu slipped out of his harness and into the ocean. “After turning around and back tracking for hours, having the Coast Guard involved, and everyone on shore looking we weren't able to find our puppy who we thought didn't know how to swim,” owner Clare Shaw told the station. “Almost 100 shares later, an equine vet saw my post and a post in a Groton lost and found pet group,” Shaw said. “We were in the right place at the right time,” he said. “We are so incredibly thankful for every single person who has sent prayers and shared my post,” Shaw wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
– Facebook isn't always used for good, but a Connecticut woman whose puppy fell overboard is now giving the social media site a giant "like" after what happened over the weekend. Clare Shaw and her family were out on their boat Sunday outside of Noank when Ryder, their 8-month-old Shiba Inu, somehow broke free of his harness and plunged into the water, per Fox 61. The panicked family, which was under the impression Ryder couldn't swim, called the Coast Guard and backtracked for hours looking for their pup, to no avail. "We felt defeated," Shaw says. "We packed up his things and lit a candle in his cage and assumed our boy lost his life drowning." But Shaw obviously didn't give up hope completely, because she decided to put up a now-deleted post on her Facebook page asking if anyone had seen her precious pup, the Epoch Times reports—and it was after 100 shares or so of that post that the best news ever came her way. A horse vet saw her post, as well as a post in a local lost-and-found group, and put two and two together. Phil Bigelow and Patrick Jullarine, friends since they were 9 years old, had been out boating themselves on Sunday and spotted a "shaking and scared" Ryder in the sea, scooped him out, and nicknamed him Nemo. Bigelow says once he got home, he and his girlfriend picked up some snacks, a collar, and toys for their newfound furry friend "to make him feel loved" until his owners could be tracked down. Shaw calls Ryder's save a "true miracle" and expressed her gratitude on Facebook, via People. "The power of social media is out of this world," she says. (A mom found her long-lost son thanks to Facebook.)