Katy Dog Gets New Life After Dramatic Lake Rescue
- ncookclark
- Aug 14
- 3 min read
KATY MAGAZINE NEWS
August 14, 2025
By Natalie Cook Clark
A Katy family used a kayak to rescue a dog struggling to swim in a neighborhood lake. Now that dog is part of their family and showing others the value of rescue pets.
Katy Dog Peanut is enjoying her new life of leisure after nearly drowning in a Cinco Ranch lake. After suspecting that she had been dumped in the area before finding her way into the water, the family who rescued her has now accepted her into their home.
“I was walking my three dogs one evening when I saw something swimming in the lake near my house, which looked very unusual,” recalls Laura Rafter. “As I got closer I realized it was a dog.”
Rafter says that there were five other people around the South Lake Cinco Ranch lake all trying to get the dog to swim to them, but she was panicking and starting to tire. That’s when a young girl whose house was on the lake grabbed her kayak.
“We went straight to Peanut and she saw us and started to swim to the kayak,” Rafter says. “Once she was close enough, I reached in and pulled her out.”
According to Rafter, Peanut was in complete shock and needed time to come around as she was so exhausted from struggling to swim. Rafter is a dog groomer and took her home for a bath and nail trim.
“She had fleas crawling all over her and her nails were overgrown,” she says. “That’s what made me believe she probably was dumped in the area. Soon she calmed down and slept on the sofa after her bath.”
The Rafter family planned to foster her and work with a rescue to have her re-homed. They took her to a vet who found that she did have a chip. The owner was notified but they never returned the call.
“I had a hunch she may have been a recue before so I decided a couple of days later to drive to CAP to see if they could give me more information about her chip,” explains Rafter.
She learned that Peanut had originally been adopted from Special Pal rescue in 2021 and had been brought in pregnant and had already had a previous litter of pups. She’s estimated to be around 7 years old.
At this point, Peanut had worked her way into their hearts and they officially made her part of their family.
“We had a ‘Gotcha Day’ party for her and lit 7 candles on a cake for every year of her life that we weren’t there for,” says Rafter. “She is the sweetest girl and I wouldn’t risk anything happening to her again.”
Peanut continues to adjust to her new life, family and three furry brothers.
“Her tail wags as soon as she sees any of us walk through the door and she’s the first to claim her place on my lap on the sofa at night,” says Rafter.
Peanut’s confidence continues to grow and shows how well rescue pets can adjust and become part of a family. The Rafter family encourages others to consider rescue pets.
“Have lots of patience and give them time to get to know you, your family and your routine,” advises Rafter. “It’s so rewarding watching their confidence grow daily and see them doing things they didn’t do the day before.”
Peanut has been with her new family now for two weeks and has just started barking and showing her personality.
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