Chili the Dog Survives After 10 Days Lost, is Rescued from River by Kayakers

On Saturday, a tiny, shivering dog was pulled from the Hudson River by a group of kayakers near Pier 26. He was barely paddling, coated in oil, visibly exhausted — but alive. The rescue has been dubbed “a second Miracle on the Hudson” by neighbors, a reference to the dramatic 2009 plane landing just a few miles north on the same river. This time, the survivor was a scrappy eight-month-old Chihuahua mix named Chili.

Chilli back home with Gabby Porter in Hell’s Kitchen on Sunday. Photo: Phil O’Brien

“I still don’t understand how he made it,” said Gabby Porter, who lives with her partner Gianni Calistro near Hudson Yards in Hell’s Kitchen. “He’s never even been in the water, not even for a swim. Only baths.”

Chili had been missing for 10 days after slipping out of his harness in the West Village. “We were just leaving dinner at Mémé with a friend and her golden retriever,” Gabby recalled, speaking at the couple’s walk-up apartment where Chili now wanders around happily, attentive but still skinny. “He didn’t want to say goodbye. He started backing up and wriggled right out of his harness. One second he was there, the next he was bolting across Hudson Street.”

Gabby chased him as far as she could. “A taxi pulled up and may have lightly hit him — but the noise just spooked him more. He ran so fast, we lost him almost immediately.”

Chili with one of his rescuers at the Downtown Boathouse at Pier 26 and with Gianni. Photos supplied

That night, the couple searched until 2am. The following morning, they printed 200 flyers and started canvassing the neighborhood. “We went hard. Staples as soon as it opened. Posters everywhere — especially along the Hudson River Park. We were just hoping someone would spot him.”

By day two, they had tracked down footage from security cameras on Pier 40 in Hudson River Park, showing Chili darting onto the pier around 11:30pm on the night he went missing. “It was a relief to know he was alive,” Gabby said. “But it was also torture. Every time we went to the pier — four days in a row — we just cried. It was traumatizing.”

The surveillance showed Chili pacing, scared and alone. No one ever saw him leave.

The couple put up posters all along the West Side, appealing for help with finding Chili . Photos supplied

Over the next week, the couple tried everything. They upgraded their flyers with waterproof sleeves. They promoted posts on social media. Gabby posted tearful TikToks, one of which reached over 350,000 views. Friends and strangers alike shared the word. “The community support was overwhelming,” she said. “Complete strangers texted, called, searched different neighborhoods just to look out for Chili. It meant everything.”

Then came the hoaxes. “I got 10 or more prank calls — people barking, saying horrible things, pretending they’d eaten him,” Gabby said. “It was beyond cruel.”

But then, just before noon on Saturday, her phone rang again.

“This guy says, ‘I found your dog in the river,’ and I thought, please not another prank. Then he sent a photo. It was Chili. Wet, scrawny, covered in black oil. But alive.”

The kayaker — who gave his name as Joe — was paddling near the boundary markers off Pier 26 when he spotted something bobbing in the water. “He thought it was a trick of the light,” Gabby said. “His friend didn’t believe him at first. But he paddled over, and sure enough, it was a tiny dog trying to stay afloat.”

“I jumped into an Uber so fast, but the traffic was crawling. It felt like forever,” Gabby recalled. “When we finally got there, Chili was in shock — but he recognized us. He gave us a few licks. He was safe.”

Gianni captured the reunion on video — a moment of tearful relief after 10 nights of fear and uncertainty. “We’ve only had him six months,” said Gabby. “He’s our baby. We couldn’t imagine losing him.”

When Chili was first spotted in the Hudson, Sarah, a patrol volunteer with the Downtown Boathouse, was flagged down in the northwest corner of the embayment. With help from other nearby kayakers — Sarah managed to get the exhausted, oil-covered dog into her boat. “He seemed very tired, scared and fatigued,” Martin Sweeney, a member of the board of directors for the all volunteer-staffed free kayaking program told us. It was a true group effort, with about half a dozen people working together to get Chili to safety. Joe recognized him from the missing posters, and within minutes, he was on the phone with Gabby. “Everyone was just happy to get him out safely,” said Martin. “And reconnecting him with his owner so quickly was a great bonus.”

At the vet, Chili was examined and given bloodwork. “He was malnourished, with cuts on his paws and oil matted into his fur. We tried Dawn soap to get it out, but ended up just trimming it away. His pads were torn up, and he had some abrasions, but the vet was shocked at how good his overall condition was.”

After days without food, Chili is getting small meals throughout the day so his body can adjust to eating again. “He’s already a slim guy, but now he’s like a little skeleton,” Gabby said. “We’re taking it slow.”

As for what Chili endured for those 10 days, no one knows. “We still don’t know how he got into the water — or how long he was there. He might’ve been hiding under the pier, living off scraps. It’s all a mystery.”

The couple is ordering a new triple-strap harness and a GPS collar before taking Chili out for walks again. “We’re not taking any chances,” Gabby said. “He’s staying right by our side.”

The kayakers who saved him have asked to stay out of the spotlight, but Gabby hopes to meet up with Joe soon. “He’s a hero. I want to take him out for dinner. Chili will be there too — on much better terms.”

Chili and Gabby relax at home on Sunday after 10 days apart and a dramatic rescue. Photo: Phil O’Brien

Reflecting on the ordeal, Gabby gets emotional. “There were so many points we could have lost hope. But it was the kindness of strangers — people reposting, calling, checking in — that kept us going.”

She added later: “I also forgot to mention all of the amazing New Yorkers that would text and call me and try to give me tips and tell me that they were searching around the West Village or a different neighborhood just to look out for Chili. Complete strangers, but they wanted to help in any way they could.”

Now, Chili is curled up on the couch in their Hell’s Kitchen apartment, finally getting some well-earned rest.

“He slept like a rock last night,” Gabby said with a laugh. “Under the covers, above the covers — he’s always moving. But he’s home. He’s safe. That’s all that matters.”

* Additional reporting by Catie Savage.