NYPD Harbor and Scuba cops patrolling the East River outside the United Nations for the pope’s visit yesterday rescued an ailing beaver who was barely afloat – and might not have had a prayer without them.
Cops rushed the weak and dehydrated 35-pound female rodent to Animal General, where she was given antibiotics and fluids by staffers who nicknamed her “Denny.”
“We’re really happy. Things are looking up for Denny,” said Karen Heidgerd, administrator of the West Side veterinary hospital.
The rescued rodent will be transferred to an upstate animal sanctuary today. The unexpected aquatic discovery came around 12:30 p.m. after Pope Benedict XVI had left the UN. The scuba team, on a harbor patrol boat in the west channel of the East River near the UN building, spotted something fishy.
“We saw a dark foreign object in the water,” said Lt. John Harkins, commanding officer of NYPD Scuba. “We thought it could be something suspicious because the pope was addressing the General Assembly.”
Upon closer examination, they saw a beaver floating on her side and moving in a circle. She appeared to have trouble breathing.
Officer John Angus grabbed a safety noose and got the shivering creature aboard before putting her in a large bucket with water.
“Her head was up. She looked around,” Angus said. “Once she knew she wasn’t going to be eaten, she relaxed.”
A volunteer at the hospital said beavers are fresh-water creatures, and she may have drifted with the current into the salty East River. The Bronx River has fresh water, and officials were checking to see “if there are any colonies there.”