GROTON -- Ryder was lost, then he was found.
Clare Shaw and her family were boating off the coast of Noank, along the Connecticut shoreline Sunday, when their 8-month Shiba Inu puppy slipped out of his harness and into the ocean.
"After turning around and back tracking for hours, having the coast guard involved, and everyone on shore looking we weren't able to find our puppy who we thought didn't know how to swim," Shaw told FOX 61.
The family was hoping for the best for Ryder, but fearing the worst.
"My family came home and we felt defeated, we packed up his things and lit a candle in his cage and assumed our boy lost his life drowning," she said.
But then, she gave it one more shot. She posted on Facebook, asking if anyone had seen her precious pup.
"Almost 100 shares later, an equine vet saw my post and a post in a Groton lost and found pet group," she explained. The vet put the two Facebook posts together and realized someone found and rescued Ryder.
"They had found him swimming in the middle of the sound and pulled him into their boat," Shaw said they picked him up late Sunday night "We are so incredibly thankful!"
