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American Morning

Dog Rescue

Aired February 20, 2003 - 07:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Homeland security is serious business indeed, but hey, breaking news is breaking news. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge found that out yesterday when this network and several of the other cable news networks cut away from that big speech he was giving out in Ohio about this advertising campaign concerning how to be prepared in the event of a terrorist attack, cut away from that to cover the dramatic rescue of a dog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: No disrespect to the homeland security secretary, but we were watching during his speech, and we saw that the boat it appeared was attached to a rope that was...

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, there they go!

HARRIS: ... hung up on something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAFFERTY: The stranded dog, a Rottweiller mix, was retrieved from an ice flow in the Passaic River, but it was no day at the beach. It was a tough rescue. It took a little while.

And joining us now to talk about that ordeal are the two gentlemen who were in the boat who facilitated the rescue of this fine, young man who is sitting here with us this morning in the studio. Kearny New Jersey Fire Captain Tom McDermott and George Smith of the Newark Humane Society, along with the dog they saved, who is nameless, but belongs I guess to someone who has yet to come forward. Some people have called and said that they're the owner, but so far, you haven't figured out who that is.

Take me back for a minute and give me an idea of some of the challenges of getting this dog out of that river. It was not something that happened easily or quickly. It took a while.

CAPT. TOM MCDERMOTT, KEARNY FIRE DEPT.: No, with all of the ice and snow built up on the banks, it was very difficult just to get a boat into the water. The Kearny Fire Department isn't currently equipped with a boat, so we had to reach out for mutual aid. The Humane Society responded, and they came with the boat, a small rowboat.

CAFFERTY: And if we can throw some of that video up while we're talking here and give people an idea of what these two gentlemen went through. Any idea of how the dog got out on the river to begin with? Or was it just the dog was being curious?

GEORGE SMITH, NEWARK, N.J. HUMANE SOCIETY: Well, the way I see it, though, that he probably got on top of that ice and the ice dropped off.

CAFFERTY: Broke loose.

SMITH: And broke loose. And so...

CAFFERTY: It was warm yesterday, yes.

SMITH: ... and he just drifted downstream.

CAFFERTY: Now, did you guys have any idea while this was going on the amount of attention you were getting? I mean, this became a national live news story.

MCDERMOTT: I had no idea. I was so taken aback by it. I got back to the firehouse to retrieve my car, which I left because I was off duty, I was going home, and everyone was telling me that all of the networks are calling. They said they cut away from Tom Ridge's homeland conference, and I was really surprised.

CAFFERTY: This is a cabinet-level position. This was a much anticipated speech. If I were Tom Ridge, I would be concerned that my address was interrupted for a couple of guys fetching the dog out of the Passaic River here in New Jersey. But, hey, news is news.

Tell me a little about the dog. He seems like a very well- behaved, nice young fellow, a couple of years, 3 years old maybe. Any idea who he belongs to?

SMITH: Well, right now, we're still waiting for somebody to come or call, you know, to find out if it's their dog. But we got a lot of (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and you know, people calling trying to find out who the dog belongs to. It's just a stray right now. We've got to hold him for seven days. And we've just been getting a lot of calls in for him.

CAFFERTY: What's the number they can call if they're watching this and think they might have an idea of who owns him?

SMITH: OK, 973-824-7080.

CAFFERTY: Well, I'm glad all three of you got out of that icy river safely yesterday, and I thank you for trekking in through what's left of the snow to be with us on AMERICAN MORNING. And good luck to this one.

And by the way, the Humane Society has a lot of dogs, and they're all looking for homes. I always get my dogs from the shelters. They're great pets. So even if this isn't your dog, but you're watching and you're thinking about getting one, go to the local Humane Society or the animal shelter and pick up a stray that needs a home. They're the best.

Thanks, fellows, very much.

MCDERMOTT: Thank you very much.

SMITH: Thank you.

CAFFERTY: Appreciate you being here.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired February 20, 2003 - 07:53   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Homeland security is serious business indeed, but hey, breaking news is breaking news. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge found that out yesterday when this network and several of the other cable news networks cut away from that big speech he was giving out in Ohio about this advertising campaign concerning how to be prepared in the event of a terrorist attack, cut away from that to cover the dramatic rescue of a dog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: No disrespect to the homeland security secretary, but we were watching during his speech, and we saw that the boat it appeared was attached to a rope that was...

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, there they go!

HARRIS: ... hung up on something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAFFERTY: The stranded dog, a Rottweiller mix, was retrieved from an ice flow in the Passaic River, but it was no day at the beach. It was a tough rescue. It took a little while.

And joining us now to talk about that ordeal are the two gentlemen who were in the boat who facilitated the rescue of this fine, young man who is sitting here with us this morning in the studio. Kearny New Jersey Fire Captain Tom McDermott and George Smith of the Newark Humane Society, along with the dog they saved, who is nameless, but belongs I guess to someone who has yet to come forward. Some people have called and said that they're the owner, but so far, you haven't figured out who that is.

Take me back for a minute and give me an idea of some of the challenges of getting this dog out of that river. It was not something that happened easily or quickly. It took a while.

CAPT. TOM MCDERMOTT, KEARNY FIRE DEPT.: No, with all of the ice and snow built up on the banks, it was very difficult just to get a boat into the water. The Kearny Fire Department isn't currently equipped with a boat, so we had to reach out for mutual aid. The Humane Society responded, and they came with the boat, a small rowboat.

CAFFERTY: And if we can throw some of that video up while we're talking here and give people an idea of what these two gentlemen went through. Any idea of how the dog got out on the river to begin with? Or was it just the dog was being curious?

GEORGE SMITH, NEWARK, N.J. HUMANE SOCIETY: Well, the way I see it, though, that he probably got on top of that ice and the ice dropped off.

CAFFERTY: Broke loose.

SMITH: And broke loose. And so...

CAFFERTY: It was warm yesterday, yes.

SMITH: ... and he just drifted downstream.

CAFFERTY: Now, did you guys have any idea while this was going on the amount of attention you were getting? I mean, this became a national live news story.

MCDERMOTT: I had no idea. I was so taken aback by it. I got back to the firehouse to retrieve my car, which I left because I was off duty, I was going home, and everyone was telling me that all of the networks are calling. They said they cut away from Tom Ridge's homeland conference, and I was really surprised.

CAFFERTY: This is a cabinet-level position. This was a much anticipated speech. If I were Tom Ridge, I would be concerned that my address was interrupted for a couple of guys fetching the dog out of the Passaic River here in New Jersey. But, hey, news is news.

Tell me a little about the dog. He seems like a very well- behaved, nice young fellow, a couple of years, 3 years old maybe. Any idea who he belongs to?

SMITH: Well, right now, we're still waiting for somebody to come or call, you know, to find out if it's their dog. But we got a lot of (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and you know, people calling trying to find out who the dog belongs to. It's just a stray right now. We've got to hold him for seven days. And we've just been getting a lot of calls in for him.

CAFFERTY: What's the number they can call if they're watching this and think they might have an idea of who owns him?

SMITH: OK, 973-824-7080.

CAFFERTY: Well, I'm glad all three of you got out of that icy river safely yesterday, and I thank you for trekking in through what's left of the snow to be with us on AMERICAN MORNING. And good luck to this one.

And by the way, the Humane Society has a lot of dogs, and they're all looking for homes. I always get my dogs from the shelters. They're great pets. So even if this isn't your dog, but you're watching and you're thinking about getting one, go to the local Humane Society or the animal shelter and pick up a stray that needs a home. They're the best.

Thanks, fellows, very much.

MCDERMOTT: Thank you very much.

SMITH: Thank you.

CAFFERTY: Appreciate you being here.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.