WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A dog missing since last
month that was rescued several miles from land on the ice of Lake St.
Clair by a U.S. Coast Guard crew has been reunited with his owners.
Jodi
Benchich and her father, David, greeted KC on Wednesday evening at
Wilson Veterinary Hospital in Macomb County’s Washington Township, the
Detroit Free Press and The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reported.
"He’s getting extra treats … for sure," Jodi Benchich said.
The
dog is expected to be OK. On Wednesday, he had a blue bandage on his
right leg and was getting intravenous fluids. During the reunion, KC
quickly began wagging his tail and licking Jodi Benchich’s face.
"Stay home now," said David Benchich, 61.
The
crew of the 140-foot cutter Bristol Bay was heading Monday to help
another vessel stuck in ice when the dog was spotted. Three crew members
suited up in weather-resistant gear and left the ship to retrieve the
dog.
The crew, which is handling icebreaking in the Great Lakes region, gave the dog the name
"Lucky."
"We couldn’t just leave him out there," said Lt. Commander John Henry of the Detroit-based
Bristol Bay.
Coast
Guard crews often see wildlife such as foxes or deer on the ice, Henry
said, but not dogs. The dog had a harness and collar but no identifying
tag, the Coast Guard said, so its owners initially were a mystery.
Jodi
Benchich says KC had been missing since late February, when he got away
from the family’s backyard in the Detroit suburb of St. Clair Shores.
This week, she saw a TV news report about the rescue.
"As soon as I found out the Coast Guard saved him, I called them and thanked them like crazy,"
she said.
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