A very tired Jack Russell swam for three hours amid choppy waters before two couples passed within ten feet of him on their boat. His owner had gone below deck, and when he returned the dog was gone. If the pup hadn’t been wearing a bright orange life jacket, his rescuers said, they would never have seen him.
The boaters were five miles offshore of Hernando Beach in the Gulf of Mexico when one man, Bruce Knecht, identified what he thought was a buoy floating in the water. As they grew closer, it became clear the “object” was something else entirely.
“You just saw his little nose sticking up out of the water,” another boater, Shawn Sahr, told FOX 13 News. Sahr’s husband Michael noted that finding the little guy was like “a needle in a haystack.” The pup swam right up to the boat before Michael lifted him aboard.
When they radioed the Coast Guard, the group discovered the dog had been reported overboard several hours prior. His owner arrived at the nearest station in tears the same moment they arrived, shouting the dog’s name, Jaegermeister. He said this was his baby, and that he was “just so glad,” especially after hours of searching and assuming his best friend was gone forever.
dog and ownerSource: FOX 13 News
It was pure chance, and a bright orange life jacket, that brought this little dog back home. And we’re so happy for the ending.
