A Maltese dog who was thrown from the bridge into the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal in Rotem on 16 September has now been given a new home.
Giovanni Cafaro (47) from Eisden in Maasmachelen (Limburg province) was fishing on the bank of the Zuid-Willemsvaart on Saturday 16 September, when suddenly a car stopped on the bridge. "A man opened the door, took a little dog out of the car and smashed it against the railing of the bridge. Then he threw the dog from the 8-metre-high bridge into the canal," Cafaro told Het Belang van Limburg.
"I could not believe my eyes. I abandoned my fishing gear and went after the man. He drove at high speed towards the centre of Rotem. Miraculously, I was able to follow him to his home. There I confronted the man with his deed. I also immediately notified the police."
Cafaro then immediately drove back to the bank of the canal to look for the dog. Fortunately, two other fishermen had also seen the incident happen. One of them saw the canine drifting towards Neeroeteren and jumped into the canal to rescue him. The Maltese was then handed over to the police.
'We christened the dog Gio, after one of his rescuers'
The officers drew up an official report and took the dog to animal rescue centre Dieren in Nood in Ophoven. The centre established that the Maltese was very neglected and needed care.
"The dog was incredibly skinny," Sofie Cnudde of Dieren in Nood told Het Belang van Limburg. "You could count every bone. His skin and hair also needed care. And we needed to adapt his diet. We christened the dog Gio, after one of his rescuers."
"When we learned that the Maltese was named after my husband, we had tears of emotion," responds Ingrid Goovaerts (43), Giovanni's wife. "Many people offered to adopt Gio. We ended up doing the same. We were allowed to collect Gio from a temporary foster family last week. He has been part of our family since a few days. The fishermen, Nick and Phayon, have already paid a visit, and brought a cuddly toy with them."
Translation: Update on the good news... GIO the dog we rescued from the canal is now with us... welcome to our family friend.
"We are very happy to have Gio in our family," said the couple's two children, Giovanni (11) and Gioia (13). "We have never had a dog before. Several times a day we take Gio for walks outside and we give him a lot of attention. He is a real cuddly animal. Gio is very sweet."
Gio runs and plays in the living room, but sometimes he is still a bit scared. "He has to overcome that fear," says Ingrid. "That may have to do with a previous residence. If we compare the pictures of how Gio was left with today's, he has made considerable progress. The Maltese is, however still receiving daily medication.
"We are happy to be able to give him a second life. He is a special family dog. We will definitely take good care of him."
