Search on for Owner of Injured Dog Rescued From Missouri River in 'Bad Shape'

A golden retriever must have lost his owner when he was found swimming in the Missouri River.

A dog was found floating in the Missouri River and the local animal rescue is searching for the dog’s owner.

Sioux City Animal Adoption and Rescue picked up the golden retriever in the river Saturday after they received a call from a woman who saw the dog.

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“He was swimming but not very well. He has injuries to one of his rear paws. It looks like he’d been trying to get out of the water but didn’t have the strength," Cindy Rarrat, the owner of the rescue, told InsideEdition.com.

The dog, who they named names "Moses" a nod to the biblical character who parted the Red Sea, is more than 8 years old and in pretty bad shape, Rarrat said. 

But, she said it’s clear that Moses had an owner because he had a collar when they found him.

The rescue has no idea where the dog could be from because he could have “floated down the river a long ways.”

Rarrat said it was clear the “sweetheart” wanted to live based on how tired he was when they found him.

“He was exhausted,” said Rarrat. “He put up a fight.”

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Unfortunately Moses is still very weak and in what Rarrat called "grave shape."

He is recovering at the local vet.

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