Polish sea scientists have decided to adopt a dog they rescued on Monday from an ice floe in the Baltic Sea, Polish Radio reported on Friday.
The dog was rescued on Monday by the Baltica after drifting for several days down the river Vistula and some 24 kilometres into the Baltic Sea in northern Poland. He was fed before being taken for a veterinary check-up.
The crew members — who originally mistook the adrift mutt for a seal — decided to adopt the dog after being unable to locate his owners.
“Even though the men are sea veterans, and hardened men, in the case of the dog they showed huge heart,” Ewa Baradziej—Krzyzankowska of the Sea Fisheries Institute told TVN 24.
Offers poured in from people wanting to adopt the dog after the story made headlines. Polish President Lech Kaczynski sent a personal letter thanking the crew for saving the dog.
But the crew members were reportedly relieved when the dog’s owner could not be found.
“The dog will become part of the crew,” Baradziej—Krzyzankowska told TVN 24. “If he withstood so many days on an ice floe, he must be a sea wolf.”
