Just so happens that a man fishing solo off of the Siesta Key Coast in the Gulf of Mexico was running a camcorder of his fishing.  I am assuming it was to hopefully film a nice catch, and since he was fishing alone, he had to mount the camera and keep it running.  Well, what he did not expect to catch was a dog… swimming alone and completely terrified.

Here is the story according to Huffington Post as well as the video taken by the fisherman:

A fisherman kayaking on the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend made one catch he’ll never forget — a dog swimming for his life off the Siesta Key coast.

What initially seemed like a bizarre rescue actually took place following a horrific tragedy, when a drunk driver fatally struck the dog’s owner in a hit-and-run accident approximately one mile from the shore, according to ABC Action News.

Authorities told the local Patch that they found Donna Chen, 53, face down on the pavement that afternoon, while her dog, Barney, was nowhere to be seen.

Police said that the suspected driver, Blake Talman, was fleeing another crash scene when his Nissan Altima spun out of control, striking Chen and Barney, as well as some landscaping, a street sign, a telephone line, and several wooden poles lining the entrance to a church, according tot he Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Talman and his passenger were both taken to a local hospital to be treated for serious injuries.

It wasn’t until after posting the rescue video to YouTube that the kayaker connected the accident to his timely rescue.

“Our guess is that [the dog] was so freaked out and traumatized that he just wanted to get as far away from there as possible,” he wrote in the video’s description. “And when he ran out of land, he took to the water.”

The kayaker pulled the visibly distraught and injured dog to safety. He is now with the family and is expected to make a full recovery.

Talman, 22, is charged with DUI manslaughter in addition to DUI property damage and personal injury.

Here is the video recording of the rescue.  At approximately 0:26 is when you can barely see the dog’s head bobbing in the water to the right side of the video, just under the pole.

10 responses to “Kayak Fisherman Rescues Dog Swimming Off the Coast in the Gulf of Mexico | Video”

  1. Oh that poor baby. He must have been absolutely terrified. Looks like a maybe Visla? Pretty dog. So thankful he was rescued.

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    1. I’m pretty sure it’s a Visla. Poor thing. So glad that man was there and helped him. Who knows how long that dog would have just kept swimming until he lost all strength and went under. (shudder)

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  2. A terrible tragedy since the owner was killed, but at least the dog was saved. An amazing video.

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    1. It is. And just think… the vast majority of people out fishing, especially by oneself in a kayak, typically do not have a mounted camera recording. What are the odds that this dog found this one individual who happened to have a camcorder running? Truly amazing.

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      1. The odds against it happening are so high that it makes this video uniquely amazing. On a lighter note, a couple summers ago my wife and I launched our sea kayak from the cottage we were staying at in coastal Maine, and a couple relatives were supposed to watch our dog – they didn’t, and he came swimming after us, giving us no choice but to turn around and go back so we could get him out of the water and on a leash. Our dog swimming after us would have made an amusing video if we had a cam with us at the time.

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  3. […] the Siesta Key Coast in the Gulf of Mexico was running a camcorder of … … Visit link: Kayak Fisherman Rescues Dog Swimming Off the Coast in the Gulf … ← Florida kayak fisherman finds dog paddling in Gulf; other Gulf Coast […]

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  4. THIS is what i call a happy story. thanks Michelle. continue…

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  5. Bittersweet. The death of the sweet dog’s owner, relief of his being rescued, and caring people who rescued and take care of him. Human beings — both nastyand nice.

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  6. It just made me cry when I saw that poor dog. Thank God he was rescued. I hope whoever takes him takes good care of him. Great Story….

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  7. Hello: I would take that dog over the likes of half of mankind. Hopefully Barney is back to his old self ASAP.

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