What was supposed to be a nice outing off the coast of Noank when Clare Shaw and her family were boating along the Connecticut shoreline turned into a grievous one. 
 
 On June 26, their 8-month-old Shiba Inu puppy got out of his harness and fell into the ocean. 
 
 “After turning around and back tracking for hours, having the coast guard involved, and everyone on shore looking we weren’t able to find our puppy who we thought didn’t know how to swim,” Shaw told WTIC. 
 
 Therefore, the only thing Shaw could think was that her pup lost his life. 
 
 “My family came home and we felt defeated, we packed up his things and lit a candle in his cage and assumed our boy lost his life drowning,” she said. 
 
 Still, trying to be a little hopeful, Shaw took to Facebook, asking if anyone had seen her dog, Ryder. 
 
 Her post was shared over 100 times. 
 
 And then suddenly … 
 
 Phil Q. Bigelow and his pal, Patrick Jullarine, were the ones who rescued the long lost pup. 
 
 Bigelow recalls Sunday’s event: 
 
 So, it started off as a normal day. Myself and my friend, Patrick, were headed out on my boat to fish. We then got a call from our friend, Tommy Nahornick, who was home from the army—also wanting to join in on the fishing trip. We picked him up at a local dock and the three of us who have been friends since 9 years old then headed out from bushy point and pine island for some fishing. About a half mile out, we came to a stop as Patrick and Tom both stood up and asked me ‘Is this a good spot?’ I replied ‘yes’ they asked ‘Are we going to fish here?’ I said ‘no’ and they asked ‘why?’ and I said we have to go rescue this dog first. As we approached the little guy, Tommy, with one first swipe, pulled the little guy in the boat. We dried him off and immediately gave him water. He was shaking and scared. He stayed on the boat with us for the day and warmed up to us in no time. Not knowing his name we quickly decided Nemo was what we will call him considering he was lost and now found. We brought him to the dock then the real work started trying to get him home. Contacted all local agencies and posted to Facebook. My girlfriend and I took a trip to Walmart and bought him some food a collar and toys to make him feel loved until we found his owners. 
 
 Bigelow quickly added that he and his pals are not heroes, instead they did what anyone else would have done. “We were in the right place at the right time,” he said. 
 
 “So happy you got him back!” wrote a Facebook user on the picture of Shaw hugging Ryder, after the two were reunited. 
 
 Bigelow added, “I have seen a lot of crazy things while being out on the boat, but this was #1 so far.” 
 
 As far as Shaw is concerned, she couldn’t be happier. “We are so thankful for his safe return and are so overwhelmed with how many caring people there are in the community,” she told Epoch Times ||||| The pup disappeared without a trace — in the scariest place possible. 
 
 According to FOX 61, who reported the story, a family was boating with their the dog off the coast of Noank, Connecticut, on Sunday when the 8-month-old Shiba Inu slipped out of his harness and into the ocean. 
 
 “After turning around and back tracking for hours, having the Coast Guard involved, and everyone on shore looking we weren't able to find our puppy who we thought didn't know how to swim,” owner Clare Shaw told the station. 
 
 The family feared the worst for Ryder but nevertheless looked to Facebook for a glimmer of hope, sharing a message on the Groton Animals Lost and Found page about the pooch. Meanwhile, as luck would have it, another boater found Ryder and pulled him to safety. 
 
 “Almost 100 shares later, an equine vet saw my post and a post in a Groton lost and found pet group,” Shaw said. The Connecticut veterinarian linked the two Facebook posts and realized someone found the dog missing at sea. 
 
 “We are so incredibly thankful for every single person who has sent prayers and shared my post,” Shaw wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “The power of social media is out of this world. I am happy to say that Ryder has been found in the water at Fisher Island and kindly saved! We are on our way to Mystic right now to get him! Thank you Stacey Golub for making the connection and everyone for bringing our boy home! It is a true miracle.” ||||| A dog named Leo’s life story went from tragic to triumphant when a caring UPS driver named Katie Newhouser from Rancho Cucamonga, California, crossed paths with him. 
 
 In May, Newhouser posted a photo of her pit bull pal in a Facebook group called UPS DOGS. Their bittersweet tale touched many hearts and began to garner attention. 
 
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 As she writes in her post, Leo’s “owner passed away and now he lives with me.” That’s the short version of the story; the more in-depth tale, as first recounted by Newhouser to Pup Journal, is more dramatic and heart-tugging. 
 
 Leo had been adopted by his original owner, a woman named Tina, after her son Cannon brought him home as a puppy. Leo was actually too young to have been separated from his dog mom, so he could not yet eat solid puppy food and Tina had to bottle-feed him. Thus, the pair formed a unique bond. 
 
 “They were very very close and did everything together,” Newhouser tells PEOPLE. “I don’t think that dogs ever forget anyone who they have been that close to.” 
 
 Katie Newhouser Facebook 
 
 The friendly pup also bonded with his local UPS driver, Newhouser. She tells Pup Journal, “He would hear my truck come into the condo complex and start barking and scratching at the door to come down to the truck. He would love to come into the truck and go into the back to look around. I remember one day I was driving up one of my busier streets and they were coming down the street and all of a sudden there was Leo popping his head out the passenger side barking at me! He barked all the way down the street!” 
 
 RELATED VIDEO: Should I Be Brushing My Dog’s Teeth? PEOPLE’s Pet Vet Weighs In 
 
 Newhouser learned of Tina’s untimely death through a Facebook post. She contacted her friend’s son Cannon, a Marine who could not keep the dog, and offered to foster Leo. Although Newhouser already had three pups of her own, her personal bond with Leo proved too strong to let go of the gentle giant. 
 
 Katie Newhouser Facebook 
 
 “It was probably confusing for him at first, [but] he has adapted well,” says Newhouser. “He and his brother Moose are inseparable. Bailey, his sister, has taken a while to come around, [but] they actually play now … once Leo was introduced into the house, the whole vibe changed.” 
 
 Katie Newhouser Facebook 
 
 “He loves going for rides, he loves the water, he loves playing with his chew toys, he loves tormenting his two feline sisters, he loves laying in the sun, he has NO concept of personal space. He likes to be on us or right beside us! He is a character,” says Newhouser of her new furry kid. 
 
 One new lifestyle challenge for Leo was weaning him off the human food that Tina used to feed the pup. His begging face was in full effect 24/7. However, Newhouser adjusted by adding boiled chicken to all her pups’ dog food, which she figures may partially account for the rest of the canine crew accepting him with open paws. 
 
 Katie Newhouser Facebook 
 
 “He has some health issues,” Newhouser tells PEOPLE. “He has had constant ear infections since he has been here, and he has also developed a really bad rash. We recently found a really good vet and she is trying new treatments on his ears and seems to think he has a food allergy, so we have switched all their food over to limited ingredients to see if that helps.” 
 
 However, the biggest challenge for Leo was more emotionally focused. 
 
 “Leo missed Tina when he first got here,” Newhouser explained to Pup Journal. “He would whine at night before he would fall asleep. It was heartbreaking, really. He still does every once in a while. I know he misses her.” 
 
 Despite his moments of sadness, Leo has come a long way and absolutely loves playing with his new dog siblings. While neither Leo nor Newhouser expected that a twist of fate would bring them together permanently, it’s a sweet relief to know their friendship has blossomed into a forever family. 
 
 “He has so much personality, you would think that he is human!” says Newhouser. “He is the sweetest, most lovable dog that you will ever meet. “
– Facebook isn't always used for good, but a Connecticut woman whose puppy fell overboard is now giving the social media site a giant "like" after what happened over the weekend. Clare Shaw and her family were out on their boat Sunday outside of Noank when Ryder, their 8-month-old Shiba Inu, somehow broke free of his harness and plunged into the water, per Fox 61. The panicked family, which was under the impression Ryder couldn't swim, called the Coast Guard and backtracked for hours looking for their pup, to no avail. "We felt defeated," Shaw says. "We packed up his things and lit a candle in his cage and assumed our boy lost his life drowning." But Shaw obviously didn't give up hope completely, because she decided to put up a now-deleted post on her Facebook page asking if anyone had seen her precious pup, the Epoch Times reports—and it was after 100 shares or so of that post that the best news ever came her way. A horse vet saw her post, as well as a post in a local lost-and-found group, and put two and two together. Phil Bigelow and Patrick Jullarine, friends since they were 9 years old, had been out boating themselves on Sunday and spotted a "shaking and scared" Ryder in the sea, scooped him out, and nicknamed him Nemo. Bigelow says once he got home, he and his girlfriend picked up some snacks, a collar, and toys for their newfound furry friend "to make him feel loved" until his owners could be tracked down. Shaw calls Ryder's save a "true miracle" and expressed her gratitude on Facebook, via People. "The power of social media is out of this world," she says. (A mom found her long-lost son thanks to Facebook.)