Life jacket a lifesaver in reuniting family, pup
BY ERIKA WURST Sun-Times Media ewurst@suntimes.com May 29, 2012 9:58PM
Linn Lewis can only smile that her 5-year-old Pomeranian 'Tank' is safe and sound on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at her husband's doctor's office in Geneva. Tank went overboard from his owners boat into the Chicago River on the Memorial Day weekend, but was found safe Monday afternoon. l Steven Buyansky~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: July 6, 2012 8:49AM
Tank the Pomeranian was one popular pup Tuesday afternoon as he sat reunited in his master’s arms.
It had been a scary couple of days for the dog, who fell overboard on Sunday during a family outing on the Chicago River.
Tank’s owners, Mark and Linn Lewis of St. Charles, were spending the day on the river when at some point, around 7 p.m., they noticed the dog had disappeared.
“We were panicked, absolutely panicked,” Linn Lewis said Tuesday from her husband’s Geneva medical practice as media outlets made their rounds. “We started the search right away. [Tank]is the love of our lives.”
Luckily, the little furball was wearing a bright yellow life vest when he toppled over, which they thought might have helped him doggie-paddle safely to shore.
But with no identifying dog tags around his neck on this outing, Linn was nervous Tank would never be found.
But on Monday, Katherine Santos, who lives a few blocks from Tank’s initial sighting, called to say she had found the pup. When relatives heard about the dog, they connected the case to the one they had seen on TV. Mark Lewis quickly rushed to his pup’s side. “He’s been a busy, busy boy,” Linn Lewis said of the pup. “I was happy there were so many animal lovers out there that helped. . . . I have so much more faith in humanity now. Chicagoans have been awesome.”
