Ship rescues dog stuck on ice floe for three days

The terrified animal was found adrift in the Baltic on Monday by the crew of the Polish research vessel Baltica, an estimated three days after he became stuck on the ice.

Jan Joachim, senior officer aboard the Baltica, said: "My crew saw... a shape moving on the water and we immediately decided to get closer to check if it was a dog or maybe a seal relaxing on the ice. As we got closer to the ice floe we saw that it was a dog struggling not to fall into the water."

The rescue was difficult and the mongrel kept slipping into the icy waters. But ship engineer Adam Buczynski managed to scoop the animal on to an inflatable dinghy. "He didn't even squeal. There was just fear in his big eyes," he said.

The dog had first been seen on the ice floe inland on the Vistula river on Friday but firemen were unable to rescue him. Now the search is on for his owners.