Rescuers were worried that he would not make it in the chilly currents of the Connecticut River. But adrift and treading water after falling from his boat, all Christopher Andreasson could think of was his dog, Gabby.
The 53-year-old Andreasson of Wilder, Vt., was rescued just south of the Ledyard Bridge around 6 p.m. Sunday, officials said. His lifejacket was found floating in the water, and his 8-foot metal motorboat was recovered a short time later.
Andreasson said at first the boat he was riding in with his dog had some water in it, when he set out, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. Before he knew it, though, the boat started taking on more water.
Suddenly, Andreasson was in the water, trying to swim for shore.
"I guess I just didn't realize how much she had taken on," he said of the boat. He recalls seeing his dog swimming for the New Hampshire shore as he stripped some of his clothes and struggled in the current.
Within a few minutes, Andreasson said he heard people calling from the bridge.
"I knew help was on the way. I just needed to tread long enough for them to get to me," he said.
Hanover Police and fire officials responded to the scene, as did a special Dartmouth rescue boat operated by Safety and Security.
Officers say they arrived at the boat, located by the Ledyard Canoe Club, in about four minutes, heading just downriver where two fire department paramedics and Safety and Security officer David Hunt headed out for the rescue.
"By the time we got out there, that guy was floundering. He was in some serious trouble," Hunt said, noting that by the time Andreasson was rescued, he was very chilled.
Supervising officer Rebel Roberts noted there was good cooperation between officers and agencies on this task, but said it was lucky they arrived when they did.
"I think that if it had been much longer, there was a chance that he wouldn't have made it," Roberts said.
Andreasson, who estimated he was in the water for around 15 minutes, was treated and released from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for possible hypothermia. But one problem was still unresolved -- what had happened to Gabby?
Roberts said Safety and Security officers searched for the dog, and so did Andreasson, scouring the Hanover riverbank Sunday night and Monday.
But good news soon came -- from a Hanover resident who had located the female dog, a bichon frise, in a shallow area near the river bank.
Andreasson thanked the people who helped him search for his dog and the rescue personnel who saved him.
"I think we've got some mighty fine people in this world," said Andreasson, who manages the charter bus company Vermont Transit Co., Inc.
Hunt, a former cop who noted he has done his share of lifesaving, said he is glad to help out.
"Students come up to me and say, 'This is all you do is pick up drunk kids,' but that's not all we do, we save lives," he said.
Andreasson said he will be back out on the water again, but he has learned a valuable lesson -- to wear a lifejacket. And, there's one other thing.
"I'm not taking the dog with me on the next one," he said.
