Boaters Rescue Raccoon Stranded In Chesapeake Bay
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A baby raccoon rescue was caught on camera. The animal was stranded in Swann Creek in the Chesapeake Bay when boaters found it on the Fourth of July.
Tracey Leong has the heartwarming rescue.
There has been an overwhelming response to the video and the two men who rescued the baby raccoon say they are surprised by how popular it has become; they say all they wanted to do was save the animal.
Peering up from the Chesapeake Bay, a baby raccoon struggled to stay afloat.
"First reaction was, how do we save it?" said Dennis Jay.
"He's so adorable, how could you not?" said Peter Lamb.
The compassion of boaters Jay and Lamb launched a creative operation using a life preserver to save the little furball, who was far from shore---an uncommon and potentially dangerous place for a raccoon, who they think was stranded in the open water for several hours.
"Saw that this is a chance that it could rest from all that treading in the water," Jay said.
As soon as the baby latched on, Lamb then gently pulled it to shore.
"Best part was he made all these chirpy noises like, `I'm back on land!'" Lamb said.
The adorable rescue was posted on Youtube. The boaters nicknamed him "Rocky Raccoon," like the Beatles song. It quickly attracted widespread attention and praise.
"People needed some good news. People liked that it had a happy ending and right now, we need more happy endings," Lamb said.
The rescuers believe most people would have done the same thing and hope it inspires others to do similar good deeds.
"We all have to take care of each other on this planet, whether it's humans or animals," Jay said.
The men are also being honored by PETA with the compassionate action award.
