Officer rushed in response to 911 call — little did he know, he’d be welcoming a new family member

Every pet deserves to have a loving home and owners who are grateful to have them. A dog who was rescued from the East River unexpectedly found a forever home when one of the officers involved in her rescue fell in love with her. Even the officer's family immediately liked the dog, Hudson, per Chelsea News. The family waited for six weeks for an owner to come forward for the dog before they decided to adopt her themselves and give her a loving home.

The NYPD Harbor Unit received a 911 call on March 30 about a dog in the river. Three officers, Jared DeSalvo, Jenny Driscoll and Joe Pascone, went to the South Street Seaport to rescue the dog together and pulled her out of the water. They wrapped the dog in a blanket and named her Hudson after the western river. Nobody knows how the female Maltese ended up in the river and no owner came forward to claim her. The Animal Care Centers (ACC) of NYC revealed that Hudson was less than 2 years old when she was discovered. At that time, an officer, DeSalvo and his family expressed interest in adopting her. They waited for an owner to come forward for the next few weeks before officially adopting her. During the six weeks, Hudson was cared for by foster caregivers under the supervision of ACC.

"I know my family was very interested in the dog and I think it’s a great opportunity to kind of give her a second chance," the officer told NY Post. "She’s a very cute dog, clearly, but despite her very cute, tiny exterior, she’s tough because it’s rough waters and she really held up on her own. It’s nice to be able to provide her a home." The officer and his wife surprised their two kids with the dog on a Saturday, who had been very excited to know about her. "They know about the rescue from the day that it happened and ever since that day, they’ve been asking constantly about the status of the dog," DeSalvo pointed out "They’re very concerned about her and we did mention that, if the opportunity came up, we would like to adopt the dog, but there were no promises."

The two kids, 8-year-old Stella and 9-year-old Salvatore, were super excited to meet the dog and took turns holding her when they finally got a chance. The parents told them that they were going to a communion party before that. "I told him to take this dog home when he first sent me the picture when he was on the boat, but Jared is a rule follower. She’s just an adorable dog," the officer's wife, Nicole, told the outlet. "When he sent me the picture of her on the boat and she was all wet and wrapped up in the towel, the first message I sent back was, 'Bring my baby home to me.' And now, here she is." The children got a dog bed, treats and chew toys for Hudson and even got her a GPS tracker. "She’s gonna be very well taken care of," DeSalvo remarked.

NYPD's Instagram page @nypd posted about the rescue and adoption on their page. Many people shared their thoughts on the incident in the comments section of the post. @nycacc wrote, "Also- the cutest family ever! What a nice surprise and the kids were so grateful and excited. A wonderful experience for all of our staff too! Thank you." @coachdeborahdavis commented, "Congratulations! She’s exactly where she was meant to be." @caitlinjschneider remarked, "Yay! So happy that the DeSalvo family was able to adopt her!"