SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ – The off-season in Seaside Heights, at the Jersey Shore is usually a pretty quiet time filled with local officers dealing with a transient population that moves into motels and vacant apartments, but on Thanksgiving, things got pretty exciting for officers during a typically mundane time.
Police officers reported that a smoke alarm inside a home in nearby Seaside Park on Thanksgiving scared the family’s chihuahua, which then headed toward the nearby Barnegat Bay.
Police located the lost dog under the Route 37 bridge back to the mainland. The officers were on patrol in a boat in the bay and located the dog.
The female chihuahua’s name is Gazelle.
“She decided to wander off from her home in Seaside Park this morning only to end up in the water under the Seaside bridge for who knows how long,” the department said. “Thankfully, Officer Pasieka and Officer Heckler decided to take out the patrol boat in this beautiful Thanksgiving weather.”
The department said Gazelle was spotted in the water clinging to life.
“After being scooped up out of the freezing water, Gazelle was reunited with her family,” the department said. “We have so many things to be thankful for in our lives. Today little Gazelle is probably the most thankful for our amazing Seaside Heights Officers Pasieka and Heckler for being in the right place at the right time.”