Puddles may be a name given to a dog who ɪsɴ’ᴛ properly house-trained or disobeys when its owner orders it not to splash in the water. But for one St. Lucie County Sheriff’s deputy and his family, the name was perfect for the puppy he and a colleague ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇᴅ from a sᴇᴘᴛɪᴄ ᴅʀᴀɪɴ last month. The ᴅʀᴀɪɴ was a couple of feet deep.

Officers from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office in Florida were leaving a call when they heard something that made them stop: whimpering that was practically imperceptible, coming from a sᴇᴘᴛɪᴄ ᴅʀᴀɪɴ. Deputy Troy Glover of the Sheriff’s Office civil division went to a home in the 3500 block of Sloan Road in Fort Pierce to complete an ᴇᴠɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ there, Gettings said. As Glover was checking the property, he heard the whimpers of a dog behind the home. In a ᴍᴜᴅᴅʏ ʜᴏʟᴇ filled with ᴅɪʀᴛʏ water, he found the ᴛʀᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ puppy.

While the dog wanted to get out of the ᴅʀᴀɪɴ, it became ᴀɢɪᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ when the deputy approached, Gettings said. That’s when Glover called Gettings for help. He said:” He had been balancing on his back legs to keep his head above the water. I don’t know how long he had been in there. His hind legs ᴡᴇʀᴇɴ’ᴛ working once we pulled him out. I keep a catch pole in my patrol car. After, I sᴀꜰᴇʟʏ ᴘᴜʟʟᴇᴅ the pooch out of the ᴍᴜᴄᴋ and drove him to the Humane Society of St. Lucie County’s Fort Pierce location. They had to give him several baths. He smelled pretty ʙᴀᴅ.”

The staff there also checked the dog for ᴘɴᴇᴜᴍᴏɴɪᴀ, ʜʏᴘᴏᴛʜᴇʀᴍɪᴀ and ɪɴꜰᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴs, said David Lynch, public information officer for the Humane Society. Lynch said:” We were also concerned about ᴘsʏᴄʜᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ɪssᴜᴇs . Sometimes puppies that have been ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ show ɪssᴜᴇs, but nothing could keep Puddles down. He was a happy dog.”

Humane Society staff also ɴᴇᴜᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ the puppy and gave him ᴠᴀᴄᴄɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴs. After all that was done, the puppy was clean, able to walk again and given a clean bill of Health. They determined Puddles is just a few months old. Lynch said:” We’ve had dogs that were found in ɢᴀʀʙᴀɢᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀᴄᴛᴏʀs and ᴛʀᴀsʜ, but it’s not often we’ve had one found in a sᴇᴘᴛɪᴄ ᴅʀᴀɪɴ.”

The Sheriff’s Office shared Puddles’ story on its Facebook page Tuesday, including a photo of the dog ᴛʀᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ in the ᴅʀᴀɪɴ. The Department of Health has been in contact with the landlord of the property on Sloan Road about ᴄᴏᴠᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ the sᴇᴘᴛɪᴄ ᴅʀᴀɪɴ, Gettings said. Since the Humane Society was unable to find the puppy’s previous owner, Gettings took him into foster care a few days later and subsequently adopted him. Puddles joins a family that includes Gettings’ wife Rachael Gettings, their 2-year-old daughter Evelyn, and their basset hound, Lacie. Gettings said:” Puddles mostly likes to lounge around. He loves being home.”