Rescued from an ice floe, mongrel becomes Polish superstar
A frightened, shivering dog has been rescued after floating alone on an ice floe down Poland’s Vistula River and then 15 miles (24 kilometers) out into the Baltic Sea.
Now his saviors just have to figure out who really owns him.
Four people have already claimed him, but so far rescuers say there’s been no wagging tail of joy from the miracle dog they nicknamed “Baltic.”
The dog’s frozen odyssey came as Poland suffers through a winter cold snap, with temperatures dipping to below minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20 Celsius).
The thick-furred male dog was found adrift Monday by the crew of the Baltica, a Polish ship of ocean scientists carrying out research in the Baltic Sea. Researcher Natalia Drgas said Thursday the rescue was difficult and at one point it seemed the dog had drowned.
“It was really a tough struggle. It kept slipping into the water and crawling back on top of the ice. At one point it vanished underwater, under the ship and we thought it was the end, but it emerged again and crawled on an ice sheet,” Drgas said.
At that point, the crew lowered a pontoon down to the water and a crew member managed to grab the dog by the scruff of his neck and pull him to safety.
Too weak to shake off the frigid water, Baltic was dried and wrapped in blankets. After he warmed up, he was massaged, fed and soon got on his feet to seek company, Drgas said.
A firefighter on duty in Grudziadz, on the Vistula river 60 miles (100 kilometers) inland from the Bay of Gdansk, told The Associated Press the dog was spotted Saturday floating on ice through the city. Firefighters tried to save the dog but could not approach him on the shifting ice sheets, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Baltica crew, now moored in the port city of Gdynia, have been searching for the dog’s owners, ship captain Jerzy Wosachlo said. So far four people have claimed him, but Baltic has not claimed any of them back, Drgas said.
The dog didn’t welcome the first two people to come for him, keeping his distance and showing no recognition to a couple on Wednesday and a woman on Thursday who both said he was theirs. Two other would-be owners were still on their way to Gdynia for a possible reunion.
Once in port, the brown-and-black mongrel was taken to a veterinarian, who found him in surprisingly good condition and estimated his age at around 5 or 6. Veterinarian Aleksandra Lawniczak, said the 44-pound (20-kilogram) dog was clearly frightened but in strikingly good shape and had suffered no frostbite.
She described him as a friendly dog who was clearly well treated before getting lost.
Wosachlo said the research team is prepared to adopt Baltic if his original owner is never found.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Art student Andrzej Sobiepan didn’t want to wait decades for his work to appear in museums. So he took matters in his own hands, covertly hanging one of his paintings in a major Polish gallery.
By Wednesday, the young artist was getting plenty of attention after a nationwide TV channel reported on his stunt at the National Museum in the southwestern city of Wroclaw. He told reporters he hoped galleries would give more exhibition space to young artists as a result.
“I decided that I will not wait 30 or 40 years for my works to appear at a place like this,” Sobiepan told TVN24. “I want to benefit from them in the here and now.”
Sobiepan, a Wroclaw Fine Arts Academy student whose last name means “his own master,” said he was inspired by the elusive British graffiti artist known only as Banksy. His own painting is small, white and green, and partly uses swine leather to show a drooping acacia leaf.
On Dec. 10, Sobiepan put it up in a room with contemporary Polish art when a guard at the museum was looking the other way. Museum officials didn’t notice the new painting for three days.
Museum director Mariusz Hermansdorfer told TVN24 on Wednesday that the action revealed some security breaches, but that he also considered it a “witty artistic happening.”
“It has shown that the young generation of artists, unlike their predecessors, wants to see their works in museums,” Hermansdorfer said.
The museum has kept the painting on display — in its cafe. It will be offered for sale at Poland’s biggest charity auction on Sunday.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Art student Andrzej Sobiepan didn’t want to wait decades for his work to appear in museums. So he took matters in his own hands, covertly hanging one of his paintings in a major Polish gallery.
By Wednesday, the young artist was getting plenty of attention after a nationwide TV channel reported on his stunt at the National Museum in the southwestern city of Wroclaw. He told reporters he hoped galleries would give more exhibition space to young artists as a result.
“I decided that I will not wait 30 or 40 years for my works to appear at a place like this,” Sobiepan told TVN24. “I want to benefit from them in the here and now.”
Sobiepan, a Wroclaw Fine Arts Academy student whose last name means “his own master,” said he was inspired by the elusive British graffiti artist known only as Banksy. His own painting is small, white and green, and partly uses swine leather to show a drooping acacia leaf.
On Dec. 10, Sobiepan put it up in a room with contemporary Polish art when a guard at the museum was looking the other way. Museum officials didn’t notice the new painting for three days.
Museum director Mariusz Hermansdorfer told TVN24 on Wednesday that the action revealed some security breaches, but that he also considered it a “witty artistic happening.”
“It has shown that the young generation of artists, unlike their predecessors, wants to see their works in museums,” Hermansdorfer said.
The museum has kept the painting on display — in its cafe. It will be offered for sale at Poland’s biggest charity auction on Sunday.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Art student Andrzej Sobiepan didn’t want to wait decades for his work to appear in museums. So he took matters in his own hands, covertly hanging one of his paintings in a major Polish gallery.
By Wednesday, the young artist was getting plenty of attention after a nationwide TV channel reported on his stunt at the National Museum in the southwestern city of Wroclaw. He told reporters he hoped galleries would give more exhibition space to young artists as a result.
“I decided that I will not wait 30 or 40 years for my works to appear at a place like this,” Sobiepan told TVN24. “I want to benefit from them in the here and now.”
Sobiepan, a Wroclaw Fine Arts Academy student whose last name means “his own master,” said he was inspired by the elusive British graffiti artist known only as Banksy. His own painting is small, white and green, and partly uses swine leather to show a drooping acacia leaf.
On Dec. 10, Sobiepan put it up in a room with contemporary Polish art when a guard at the museum was looking the other way. Museum officials didn’t notice the new painting for three days.
Museum director Mariusz Hermansdorfer told TVN24 on Wednesday that the action revealed some security breaches, but that he also considered it a “witty artistic happening.”
“It has shown that the young generation of artists, unlike their predecessors, wants to see their works in museums,” Hermansdorfer said.
The museum has kept the painting on display — in its cafe. It will be offered for sale at Poland’s biggest charity auction on Sunday.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Art student Andrzej Sobiepan didn’t want to wait decades for his work to appear in museums. So he took matters in his own hands, covertly hanging one of his paintings in a major Polish gallery.
By Wednesday, the young artist was getting plenty of attention after a nationwide TV channel reported on his stunt at the National Museum in the southwestern city of Wroclaw. He told reporters he hoped galleries would give more exhibition space to young artists as a result.
“I decided that I will not wait 30 or 40 years for my works to appear at a place like this,” Sobiepan told TVN24. “I want to benefit from them in the here and now.”
Sobiepan, a Wroclaw Fine Arts Academy student whose last name means “his own master,” said he was inspired by the elusive British graffiti artist known only as Banksy. His own painting is small, white and green, and partly uses swine leather to show a drooping acacia leaf.
On Dec. 10, Sobiepan put it up in a room with contemporary Polish art when a guard at the museum was looking the other way. Museum officials didn’t notice the new painting for three days.
Museum director Mariusz Hermansdorfer told TVN24 on Wednesday that the action revealed some security breaches, but that he also considered it a “witty artistic happening.”
“It has shown that the young generation of artists, unlike their predecessors, wants to see their works in museums,” Hermansdorfer said.
The museum has kept the painting on display — in its cafe. It will be offered for sale at Poland’s biggest charity auction on Sunday.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Art student Andrzej Sobiepan didn’t want to wait decades for his work to appear in museums. So he took matters in his own hands, covertly hanging one of his paintings in a major Polish gallery.
By Wednesday, the young artist was getting plenty of attention after a nationwide TV channel reported on his stunt at the National Museum in the southwestern city of Wroclaw. He told reporters he hoped galleries would give more exhibition space to young artists as a result.
“I decided that I will not wait 30 or 40 years for my works to appear at a place like this,” Sobiepan told TVN24. “I want to benefit from them in the here and now.”
Sobiepan, a Wroclaw Fine Arts Academy student whose last name means “his own master,” said he was inspired by the elusive British graffiti artist known only as Banksy. His own painting is small, white and green, and partly uses swine leather to show a drooping acacia leaf.
On Dec. 10, Sobiepan put it up in a room with contemporary Polish art when a guard at the museum was looking the other way. Museum officials didn’t notice the new painting for three days.
Museum director Mariusz Hermansdorfer told TVN24 on Wednesday that the action revealed some security breaches, but that he also considered it a “witty artistic happening.”
“It has shown that the young generation of artists, unlike their predecessors, wants to see their works in museums,” Hermansdorfer said.
The museum has kept the painting on display — in its cafe. It will be offered for sale at Poland’s biggest charity auction on Sunday.
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