Los Angeles, CA -
A small, all-white terrier mix puppy was zip-lined to safety
Thursday morning after the dog was stranded and shivering on the island found
in the middle of the shallow man-made lake of MacArthur Park.
Los Angeles animal control officers said they didn't believe
the call at first.
"I had to come out and see for myself before sending
somebody out because it didn't seem possible," said Armando Navarrete with Los
Angeles Animal Services. "When I got here, I saw a little terrier
stranded, huddled between the palm trees trying to stay out of the water."
Animal control swam out to the puppy and set up a zip line
to shimmy the small dog back to shore without getting him wet.
The dog's owners saw him on the news and went to the animal
shelter to claim him.
Edna Gonzalez, the dog's owner, said through a translator
that the dog got loose from their home near MacArthur Park and could not be
found.
"His name is Toy," said Gonzalez's sister in law, Andrea
Pivrall. "He just started running, running, running and we lost
him. We looked for him for four hours."
The dog needs to be neutered and micro-chipped before he
will be released and Gonzalez said she needs to get the money together to pay
for that all.
She is hopeful to pay by Friday and to have Toy back in her
home by the end of the weekend.
