Family Reunited With Beloved Fish

N.H. family reunited with fish after flood

NASHUA, N.H. - Cats and dogs who wander from home get reunited with their owners all the time. But fish? That‘s what happened when flood waters from the Merrimack River recently swamped the Brand family‘s backyard pond, sweeping away seven of their 11 Koi fish and depositing them on the third fairway of the nearby Nashua Country Club.

The flooding hit Mother‘s Day weekend, when heavy rains pushed the river over its banks and to within inches of the Brands‘ home. The pond wasn‘t so lucky.

But the flooding had left enough water on the golf course to keep the fish alive long enough for David Deane, a city alderman and groundskeeper at the course, to find them.

"I popped them in and they started moving around pretty good. Guess they‘re quite resilient little things," he said.

"I brought them over and they took them in ... we wondered if anyone would ever claim them," she said.

On Tuesday, Brand and his 8-year-old daughter, Ashley, were reunited with their fish.

"It surprised me, too," Eric Brand said. "It looks like they stayed together, though, so maybe that‘s why."