You never know what you’ll find in the water, but one group of boaters was shocked to see a puppy that was lost and defenseless.
Thankfully, they rescued the puppy and brought him back to land, where he is now secure.
A group of friends out on the seashore in Fort Lauderdale, Florida came across a small white puppy struggling in the water.
“I saw something in the water and at first I was thinking, like, ‘that sorta looks like a dog,'” said Bryn Crowell, a boat passenger, to WSVN. “It occurred to me that it was a dog a split second later.”
Helping the dejected canine was their only option. Before jumping into the water, Dylan Berian, another boater, hauled the dog into the craft.
Bryn recorded the rescue and published it in a TikTok video, which has already gone viral and received around 12 million views:
Bryn tells The Dodo, “You could tell he just had the swim of his life.”
The dog was frightened and wet, but unhurt. He had accidently fallen off a boat since all of his collars were still on.
Dylan told WSVN that the dog “immediately warmed up to us.” The dog started to shake as soon as it entered the boat, but after about five minutes, it calmed down and appeared glad to be on a steady boat rather than perish in the waves.
The family dog, Zuko, had unintentionally fallen off the boat. After a scary journey, the boats were able to find the family and quickly transport them back to land where they could be reunited with their dog.
The owner of Zuko remarked, “I’m really grateful for them since they spared me from such a terrible heartbreak.
“We called and could tell they were grieving and upset on the phone conversation,” Bryn told The Dodo. “When we brought Zuko back, we witnessed his owners cuddling him and sobbing.”
Zuko’s unintentional fall from the boat was horrific, but he is now fine, and his family is resolved not to repeat the occurrence. In a later video, Bryn revealed a text message from the owners in which Zuko was wearing a brand-new life jacket.
Even if your dog is an excellent swimmer, ALWAYS wear a life jacket when boating! Bryn wrote it.
We’re very relieved that this dog is safe! Thank you to these boaters for rescuing Zuko and reuniting him with his family!
Watch the video below!