Dog survives 4 days trapped under boat

An Alaska man whose boat overturned while he was out with two friends and a dog said the canine survived under the vessel for four days. Jeremy McDonald, 34, said the boat overturned May 26 while he was out with his friends, brothers John and Billy Minerva, ages 35 and 25, and John Minerva's girlfriend's 30-pound Labrador retriever and terrier mix, Cutie, were out on the Chena River, the Fairbanks News-Miner reported Thursday. McDonald and the Minerva brothers were able to make it to shore, but they were unable to find Cutie despite hours of searching. McDonald said he was able to reach the damaged boat May 30 and Cutie revealed herself, alive and still wearing her canine flotation device, when a retrieval crew righted the vessel. "I was pretty sure we were going to go there and find a dead dog," McDonald said. "It was pretty much a miracle." John Minerva said he and his girlfriend, Grace Sommer, were overjoyed to have the dog back. He said she is recovering from her ordeal on the river. "She was sore for a couple of days, but other than that she was fine," Minerva said.