Central Point resident Todd Miller rescued a lost and stranded Pomeranian from the blackberry bushes along the Rogue River near Touvelle State Park on Sunday morning. The dog fell into the river from a capsized kayak Aug. 10. 

Inspiring a tearful reunion between a Redway, California, family and their 1-year-old dog was the furthest thing from Central Point resident Todd Miller’s mind when he headed out Sunday onto the Rogue River.

Miller was out before 11 a.m. on a section of the Rogue River near Touvelle State Park to take advantage of mild temperatures and long-awaited clear skies.

“Me and a buddy of mine took his dog out to let him play on the river. I had shut down my boat … and I heard something on the other side,” Miller recalled Sunday afternoon. “I thought it was people walking around the park, playing with a dog or something. I could hear what sounded like a little yipper dog, then I remembered, ‘You know what, there’s a dog I read about that was lost and it was a little yipper.”

Miller realized the sounds were coming from a patch of blackberries and quickly called Jon Geyer, one of three jet boat captains from Rogue Jet Boat Adventures, which runs the section of the river. The dog named Brownie, it turned out, was a lost Pomeranian that inspired a weeklong search, online scammer conspiracies and sent well-meaning community members tromping onto private property at all hours.

Riding in a kayak attached to five pool-style floaties, the dog was nowhere to be found when his six family members were plucked from the river Aug. 10 after their inflatables collided with a floating tree, which had been stuck in a fork in the Rogue for most of the summer. The kayak capsized.

The dog’s owner, Nicole Verdun, of Redway in Humboldt County, searched for her pup, even taking to social media and begging community members to help look. The family and the 5-year-old daughter who calls Brownie her own returned home Wednesday without the pup.

Calling Geyer as soon as he realized he’d found the lost dog, Miller pushed his boat into the blackberries and stopped just a few feet from the dog, 100 yards downriver from where he’d first entered the water near Highbanks Road above Rogue Discovery Park.

“He jumped right into my arms. He was done with the water,” Miller said with a laugh.

“He was in good shape. There weren’t any burrs in his fur or anything. … The guys from Rogue Jet Boats called the lady’s number, since they’d been helping her search. She just started bawling and jumped right into her car to drive back up here.”

Emily Grimes, who owns Rogue Jet Boat Adventures with her husband, Taylor Grimes, said a happy ending to a chaotic tale was a nice way to end a long week. Grimes said it’s not uncommon for her boat captains to be involved with water rescues since they can often respond more quickly than official agencies who aren’t on site. The company’s boat captains have been involved in four river rescues this summer, saving 12 lives, she said.

“Since our captains are in constant radio communication with each other on where other boaters are located on our tour route, they are able to stay alert to potential dangers and are often in the right place at the right time to offer a much-needed helping hand, or at times even save a life,” Grimes said.

News of Sunday’s rescue quickly made the rounds with river-goers and on social media. A video posted about Brownie’s rescue was viewed more than 6,400 times in less than 24 hours. Grimes said her boat captains had been hoping for a good outcome since last week’s rescue.

“One of our captains took the family to the spot where they had wrecked and let them off on the bank. They’d contacted the property owner where they had wrecked, so they were letting them on their property to look for the dog,” Grimes said.

“Being realistic, we all kind of realized the dog had either drowned or was dead. … We have coyotes, foxes, raccoons.”

Grimes said when the captains radioed that the dog had been found alive after eight days, she was in disbelief, noting, “We were all just like, ‘You have to be kidding!’”

Verdun, who spent Monday morning driving home after being reunited with Brownie on Sunday evening, said she had held out hope even after being forced to return home for work on Wednesday, four days after she’d planned to drive home. While frustrated with social media users — some of whom tried to scam Verdun for money, some who criticized her for having the dog on the river and others who said her lost dog claims were a hoax — Verdun said she was grateful for those who offered kindness.

“When I was heading home Wednesday, I still hoped that he was going to be found, but I knew it was not going to be me who was going to find him. That was kind of my feeling. … When Captain Riley called me on Sunday and said they found my dog, I told him, ‘Is this a scam?’” Verdun said Monday with a laugh.

“I can’t believe he was able to survive for eight days.”

Verdun, who speaks with an accent, hoped those who watched her situation unfold would remember to exercise “just some kindness” in any situation.

“It’s really important to try to listen to the people that are having the situation and not get carried away about what other people have to say about it,” she said. “This was a huge lesson for so many people. I had been saying my dog was there for so many days, and there were people saying that it wasn’t true, this was a scam, I didn’t have a dog.

“Thankfully, so many people helped us. I don’t speak English like an American, but that doesn’t mean I don’t deserve respect. … People kept repeating things if I didn’t agree with what they were saying, like I couldn’t understand. I had to post a message from (Rogue Jet Boat Adventures) showing they saw my dog on the banks because some random lady told everyone it was all a scam,” Verdun said.

“I’m just really grateful for the people who believed me and who helped me get my dog back.”

Miller, a former Rogue Jet Boat Adventures employee and regular river user, said finding the missing dog after eight days felt “kind of like a small miracle.”

“To be out there for eight days … maybe he ate blackberries, I don’t know. He was in the river so at least he had water to drink,” Miller said.

“It was just unbelievable he would still be out there, but it made my day … made my whole year, honestly. Who doesn’t love a happy ending?”