Punky, a four-year-old shih tzu cross, is back home after braving an ordeal in the Nechako River.
Don Rokitjanski, Punky's owner, said he was driving on North Nechako Road when Punky leapt out an open back window.
"I found one print and then it was the river. I guess he didn't realize how steep it was," Rokitjanski said. "He went right into the river."
Rokitjanski said he searched along the bank of the Nechako for about six hours, trying to find some sign of the dog.
Eventually he had to leave and return home to Mackenzie.
Rokitjanski was in Prince George to mark the 12th anniversary of his best friend's death.
"I thought I lost my second-best friend, almost 12 years to the hour after Jason died," he said.
Rokitjanski was heartbroken when he believed Punky had died in the river. He had taken Punky as a rescue and nursed him back to health.
"He was supposed to be a year-and-a-half old when I got him, but he seemed more like 100 years old," he said.
On Aug. 8 a friend in Prince George stopped by the SPCA in hopes of finding Punky there.
"He's a tough little dog, so he washed up on the shore somewhere and somebody found him," Rokitjanski said. "My friend paid to get him out of doggy jail and brought him up to Mackenzie for me."
