Heartwarming rescue of Snickers, the shipwrecked Cocker Spaniel
April 18, 2008 – 12:39 pm
Snickers, an adorable 8 month old Cocker Spaniel was abandoned by its owners on a remote island to fend for itself for 4 months before being rescued.

Snickers had an exciting adventure in his short 8 month life. Along with his owners, he was trapped adrift on a 48-foot boat for 95 days before they hit a reef near a remote and sparsely populated Fanning Isle. Snickers, along with his owners, had to swim 200 yards to shore to reach dry land.

Soon after, a cargo vessel agreed to bring the owners back to California, but could not bring any animals. So Snickers, along with a Parrot, Gulliver, was left on the island with people on the island.

Fanning is one of 33 scattered coral atolls that make up the remote nation of Kiribati. In March, the government of Kiribati, which technically owned the animals, decided to have them destroyed, Joslin said.

The culture of the island apparently does not have the same concept of what pets are to us, and so the dog was basically left to fend for itself for 4 months.

After word of its poor care and notification that Snickers was to be euthanized by the ruling government, dog lovers galvanized to rescue the dog.

Attempts to reach the previous owners were unsuccessful.

Spearheaded by Jack Joslin of Las Vegas, who offered to pay for all expenses to rescue the dog and adopt him, several organizations donated their resources to rescue the dog.Joslin said he decided to become involved when he read the account just five days after he had to have his ailing 15-year-old border collie euthanized.

"That was really tough. That was a very hard time," he said.

"I was willing to spend whatever it took, but because so many people got involved willingly, it turned out not to cost me much at all," Joslin said.


From NCL’s Pride of Aloha cruise line, which initially picked up Snickers, to donated flights by Hawaiian Airlines and services provided by the Hawaii Humane Society, Snickers is on his way to dry land and a loving owner.Snickers got a trim and flea treatment before boarding the cruise ship. Getting the canine cleared for travel involved the Hawaiian Humane Society, state agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security.

The pup was living in luxury for the last week as the first pet on the Pride of Aloha. He was a little uneasy with all the attention but he is a much different dog now than when the cruise ship first came to his rescue, according to crew members.
"It's an amazing story of a lot of people working together to save this puppy," said Evans Hoyt, captain of NCL's Pride of Aloha. "He's a very, very lucky dog. [He was] very unsure of himself and a little bit suspicious of people and it was amazing how just in the course of the first 24 hours and day by day he turned right around," Hoyt said.

The cruise may be over but the crew won't soon forget the pooch they pampered.

"There were some people who were very sad to see him go. He's a little heart stealer, that one," Hoyt said.


In dog years, his 8 month adventure was actually a 4 and half years adventure! Here’s to a long happy spoiled life for Snickers!