Dog rescued by Coast Guard survived in shipping container for 8 days with no food, water

Imagine being trapped for over a week with no food or water.

One brave dog in Houston, Texas survived this experience after being trapped in a shipping container with a destination headed overseas.

Connie the container dog, a nickname the U.S. Coast Guard gave her, had been trapped inside the container for at least eight days when she was discovered on Wednesday, Jan. 31, according to The Associated Press.

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Coast Guard officers make interesting discovery

The Coast Guard officers expected another regular day of work while inspecting thousands of shipping containers at the Port of Houston. However, Officer Ryan McMahon and his team thought they heard barking coming from inside one of the containers.

“Oh, it’s scratching, dude,” one of the inspectors said in video they recorded Wednesday morning as the team looked up at the container, stacked about 25 feet in the air.

A crane was used to bring it to the ground and out popped a brave, friendly and sweet dog.

“As soon as we opened it, we could see the little dog’s face poking out. She was right there, like she knew we were going to be there to open it for her. And she just, she wasn’t scared or anything. She just seemed happy more than anything, to be out of that dark space and in the arms of people that were going to take care of her,” McMahon, a petty officer 2nd class, told the AP on Friday.

How did Connie get into the container?

Coast Guard officials cannot confirm the exact location of the container prior to its arrival in Houston. However, many junked vehicles were found alongside the containers being shipped overseas to be sold for parts.

“So based on that, they think that the dog most likely was in a junkyard, in a car," Guard spokeswoman Chief Petty Officer Corinne Zilnicki told the AP. "And that’s how she accidentally got put in the container."

What's the next stop on Connie's journey?

After the Coast Guard members cleaned Connie and gave her food and water they brought her to a local animal shelter in Pasadena, Forever Changed Animal Rescue, for further care, the U.S. Coast Guard Heartland reported.

For anyone interested in adopting Connie, please visit pasadenashelter.com and fill out an application using Animal ID 168752.

Contributing: The Associated Press