Belgian Malinois Falls Overboard: Swims Bravely To Be Reunited With Her Beloved Family

The brave and courageous Rylee enjoying a boat ride with her family. She is a true survivor.

A Belgian Malinois recently fell overboard on her family’s boat and swam six miles courageously to be with her loving owners once again.  Edward Casas,  56, and Kristin Casas, 49, were sailing in Lake Michigan during a boating excursion where they ran into boating and mechanical problems when they were out at sea.  While trying to remedy the boating problem, they left sweet Rylee alone while they attended to their immediate engine problem.  While her husband was in the engine room and Kristin was steering the boat, Rylee fell overboard and swam over 6 miles and walked for 12 miles where she reached the Platte River Campground. Fortunately, she was found safe and sound on the grounds where she appeared unharmed.

The couple did a smart thing to lure Rylee.  They brought her toys and food and placed them close to the truck they drove so she could recognize the familiar scent.  Rylee was deep in the woods of the Platte River Campground, but when she heard Edward squeak one of her toys she came out of the woods to greet her family.  Toys and treats always do the trick!

Rylee fell overboard on her family’s boat.  She is quite a strong girl to survive the ordeal!

One person, the Casas’s have to credit for the return of Rylee is Lynn Fiedor, who runs a group called the “Lost Dog Search Team.”  Fiedor answered the call on the boat radio when the Casas’s said Rylee went overboard.  Rylee is now being trained to be a search and rescue dog, something the couple had not planned on before the accident.  This makes Rylee even more special than she already is.

Malinois are super smart, intuitive, and they can get themselves out of the trickiest of situations.  Dogs like Rylee are used for personal protection, rescue, service work, and tracking.  The name “Malinois” comes from the root name “Malines” which is a French name of the dog’s origin city.  Richard said when his son’s dog was found there was a lot of hugging and crying going on, and many tears of joy.

Want to know more about the “Lost Dog Search Team?”  Visit their Facebook page by going here.  Rylee was actually staying with Kristin and Richard while their son Colin Casas was away for college.  Colin was super pleased to hear that Rylee was ok after her incident and he is very glad to have her safe, sound, and happy!

Edward is quoted as saying Lynn is like an angel walking on earth with us.  He says she is a person with a heart of gold, loving, determined, relentless, and she has great tenacity like Rylee. Stories like Rylee’s remind us that animals are just as smart as humans.  Dogs like Rylee are truly unique and she has proven that dogs are truly man’s best friend.