In an email to Wiscasset Newspaper Jan. 1, Alna’s Coreysha Stone recounted multiple people’s New Year’s Eve rescue of a dog at a marsh in Bath. Stone wrote:

“There are are times when a group of complete strangers just happen to be at the right place at the right time. This was the case in the early evening of Dec. 31 on the water's edge of the south end dog park in Bath. As the sun was setting and I was enjoying the dog park with my two dogs, my 12-year-old son and his friend (there was) a fun beagle -hound mix, weighing about 65 pounds ... Around 4:30 p.m., (the dog) ventured down to the salt marsh on the edge of the icy Kennebec River in the shadows of (Bath Iron Works).

“My son and his friend observed (the dog) had gotten himself into a bit of a predicament and seemed stuck. We later learned that he, in his puppy excitement, had bounded through the salt marsh and jumped right into a 15-foot wide (and about five feet deep) channel of icy water (and) scrambled up the opposite side of this inlet. The sun had set and (the dog’s owner) was standing on the edge of the water with his flashlight coaxing (the dog) to return to him. Not realizing what was happening down on the water’s edge, I gathered up my crew of kids and dogs and proceeded to head home. As we drove away my son, Ellis, stated, ‘Oh no, they are still in the salt marsh.’

“From the road we could see (the owner’s) silhouette with his flashlight deep in the marsh and we realized (the dog) was in a serious situation. We decided to drive to the far end of the salt marsh and park the car so we could approach (the dog) from the south side of the marsh. Luckily, my son’s friend ... had a flashlight and we set off down the embankment on foot. We yelled back and forth with (the owner) to try and make a plan and, after many attempts to cross the salt marsh and push through brambles and reeds, we realized this was not going to work. We called the 911 dispatcher for support and continued to problem solve to rescue this stranded pup who was howling and whimpering intermittently as he remained on the edge of the channel hyper focused on the humans calling his name. 

“We returned to the dog park to continue our efforts and enlisted the help of two more dog walkers, (both) Bath residents. Shortly thereafter three police officers and a firefighter ... arrived and we all began gathering logs and branches to try and create a type of bridge or breakwater for (the dog) to cross. This was unsuccessful and we talked about getting large planks. (One person) suggested bringing down a canoe and this suggestion could not have come at a better time because dusk had turned to complete darkness and the tide was now quickly rising. 

“(That person) returned with two others ... carrying the canoe overhead through the darkness. Once the canoe arrived everything smoothly fell into place and as the canoe was pushed across the channel and the figure in the front of the canoe disembarked, (the dog) was fully compliant to work with this stranger who stood next to him, bent down and scooped him up and then lowered him into the canoe handing him off to another stranger. The canoe was pushed back to safety where officers and (the owner) helped stabilize and pull the canoe to shore. What a fantastic feeling, we cheered in the darkness and I could not help shouting ‘Happy New Year!’”