HAYES TOWNSHIP (WWJ) - Rest, recovery and food — it's what the doctor ordered after a Great Dane was rescued after getting stranded on a Northern Michigan island for over a month.
Bob Dodson with the Clare County Animal Control along with volunteers managed to save a brown and white merle Great Dane who slipped its collar and swam across a canal in Hayes Township’s Cranberry Lake.
The dog, named Zaria, was stranded on the island for roughly five weeks before she was safety captured in a live trap two days ago.
Animal control said while Zara is emaciated, she is doing well and is expected to make a fully recovery.
"We will update everyone on Zaria's progress as time passes," animal control said in a post to social media on Wednesday. Authorities said the dog has been checked out by a vet and was cleared to start recovery at the shelter.
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"She will be fed several small meals a day until her system can adjust," officials for the shelter said. "She has been sleeping since she arrived."
The shelter gave thanks to all the volunteers who helped rescue the Great Dane, including a shoutout to Steve’s Market, which donated chicken. Other thanks were given to residents who donated money and food and an anonymous “friend from downstate” who donated new age equipment for the rescue.
"We are grateful for the community support," the shelter said.
During the rescue process, the shelter said the dog's owners had surrendered Zaria to the shelter -- rescuers now hope to place her in a foster home for future adoption once she is fully healed from her ordeal.
“We’re going to keep assessing her, making sure she’s gaining weight, get her back to the vet, it’ll be a week or so just to double check,” Clare County Animal Control Director Ruanne Hicks told 9&10 News. “She’s not very trusting but she’s extremely sweet. She never offered to growl, she never offered a bite, nothing.”
Updates on Zaria’s condition will be posted to the Claire County Animal Shelter's Facebook page.