Rescued 'lake dog' of Digby County, N.S., has new name, new home
HALIFAX -- It's a rescue story that has warmed hearts far and wide, after two Digby County men in survival suits, climbed into a canoe, and braved the frigid waters of half-frozen Haines Lake to rescue a stranded pooch on Sunday.
The daring deed was captured on video by local drone operator Zane Lynch, footage which has been seen by thousands of people.
Now, the dog rescued by lobster fisherman Mike Titus and diver/boat builder Nathaniel Denton, has a new fur-ever home waiting for her.
With no owner coming forward to claim her – the so-called 'lake dog' was kept at the Digby municipal dog shelter as a flood of people came forward offering to adopt her.
Finding that new home hasn't taken long.
"We kind of planned on going out and helping the dog and just kind of fading away," laughs Denton. But now, he's getting more attention with the news that he and his family have adopted the dog.
Shortly after the rescue, Denton's wife Amanda had already expressed interest in bringing it home.
"The dog had been previously named 'Maya' by my oldest daughter probably three days ago," Denton says. "So I didn't think I had a lot of choice in the matter at that point."
But he wanted to make sure Maya would be a good fit for the family. So he brought his wife and four kids over to meet the dog at the shelter. The rapport was instant, and so "Maya" became part of the family.
The dog is due for a final veterinary appointment Friday where she will also be microchipped. The plan after that, is for Denton to take her home to her new life.
"It's getting nice after today, so we'll head hiking and stuff, playing with the girls," he says. "So Maya will get to come along as well."
It's an outcome that feels meant to be, as the Denton family had just experienced the sudden and tragic loss of their previous family dog, a boxer, due to a suspected aneurysm just about a month ago.
"We still had everything, we even had a brand new bag of food that we brought over," says Denton.
Maya's new family has now created an Instagram account for her, so people can follow her adventures.
While no one seems to know where she came from in the first place, it's certainly become clear where Maya belongs.