"I had tears in my eyes," said Appel, the Sea Nymph's 48-year-old captain, who blew kisses to her rescuers as they pulled alongside. But she acknowledged that perhaps she and Fuiava, a novice at sea, weren't as ready for the crossing as they could have been. They carried two GPS units; one failed and they had to rely on the hand-held model for the entire voyage, Appel said in a phone interview from the USS Ashland Friday. "The dogs turned out to really like human food," Appel said. Still, as the months passed, Joyce Appel said she never lost hope that the pair would be found.

Source: Philippine Star October 28, 2017 03:33 UTC