No sign of life - then the dog appeared

Juanita is lifted from the Tafadzwa after the yacht was taken to the Chatham Islands.

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Juanita is lifted from the Tafadzwa after the yacht was taken to the Chatham Islands. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The drifting yacht Tafadzwa was eerily lifeless as a rescue vessel pulled alongside yesterday. Then a dog poked her head out of the hatch.

It was 2-year-old retriever-cross Juanita, who belonged to missing yachtsman Paul Janse van Rensburg.

"When we pulled up alongside, she poked her head out for a bit, but went down below again," said fisherman and diver Floyd Prendeville, of the fishing boat Legionaire, which towed the Tafadzwa to the Chathams.

But 17 days at sea - many of them alone on the Tafadzwa as it drifted with winds and currents from the East Cape to the Chathams, 749km south east of Napier - had taken a toll on Juanita.

When Mr Prendeville approached her, she was timid, shaking and silent.

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A lucky dog indeed...