Puppy Missing After Shipwreck Found Alive

When a fishing boat crashed into an Oregon jetty Sunday night, the two men aboard, captain Todd Holt and his crewman Shane LaGue, escaped with minor injuries. But their two dogs were apparently not so fortunate.

Holt’s yellow Lab, Bob, was killed. LaGue’s 6-month-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy, Camo, went missing and was presumed to have drowned.

LaGue told The Oregonian he was heartbroken. He remained on the jetty for hours after the wreck, hoping he would see or hear his pup. Finally the Coast Guard told him he had to leave.

“I could have cared less about my personal things,” LaGue said. “The dog was what got to me. I brought him with me. He was my responsibility.”

Then on Wednesday, three days after the accident, a fisherman found Camo running up and down the jetty. He took the hungry and thirsty puppy to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter in Newport, Ore. Laura Ireland, the shelter manager, told the Associated Press that Camo doing fine.

Yesterday LaGue drove from his home in Long Beach, Wash., to pick up his puppy.

Sunday’s fishing trip had been Camo’s first time on a boat. “I don’t think he’ll be going out again,” LaGue told The Oregonian.

Earlier this year another lucky dog, a Dingo-Lab mix named Dingo, survived three weeks alone at sea – and, a few months later, an attack by a pack of wild dogs.

PHOTO: Lincoln County Animal Shelter

Laura Goldman

Laura Goldman is senior social media writer for i Love Dogs, Inc. She does love dogs. And elephants and turtles. Along with writing about the loves of her life, Laura likes to play with her two pound pups and tell anyone who’ll listen just how awesome Pit Bulls are.