On Friday, September 8, 2023 the Wellesley Police Department was searching for a missing dog that had escaped from their home in the neighborhood of Colburn Road and Woodlawn Avenue. An hour into the search, Officers Glen Misho and Derek Harris were notified that the Newton Fire Department was attempting to rescue a dog from the Charles River on the Newton/Wellesley town line, and appeared to be the missing dog in question.
Prior to this, Officer Harris had been working with the dog owner and was searching the Longfellow Pond area, as well as the Woodlawn Ave neighborhood for the dog.
The dog, identified as 7 year old Maggie, was trapped on rocks in the river, and had already gone over at least one waterfall. During the first attempt to rescue her, she slipped back into the river and was swept downstream to another set of rocks. A Wellesley Police UAV pilot captured this video as Maggie managed to jump to safety, only to fall back into the river and became trapped in a spillway adjacent to the river.
Newton Firefighters were able to pluck Maggie from the spillway before she went further down river and into the rapids.
Maggie is a rescue whippet rat terrier mix. She reportedly is not a big fan of the water, but does enjoy running for miles with her owner.
Officer Harris positively identified Maggie after firefighters rescued her. Firefighters were then able to dry off Maggie and keep her calm following the harrowing river run.
Maggie and her owner were happily reunited at the rear of 65 Walnut Street, and then posed for some photos with the Newton Firefighters who scooped her from the water.