When Rory O’Connor slid his kayak into the Gulf of Mexico for some fishing, the last thing he imagined he’d pull out of the water was an injured dog. But that’s exactly what happened to the unsuspecting fisherman, whose actions would soon reveal a story with a more bitter-sweet ending than the average fish tale.
O’Connor was looking for a prime fishing spot when he noticed a distressed dog swimming past his kayak. (The encounter was captured on O’Connor’s kayak-camera and can be viewed here.) Upon pulling the exhausted animal out of the water, the fisherman set out for shore. Back on land, he noticed the dog, named Barney, was injured. He gave it to his sister, who took it to a local veterinarian who in turn was able to identify Barney’s owner by the animal’s ID chip. The owner, however, was not able to reclaim Barney because she was dead, killed by an alleged drunk driver only a mile from where O’Connor found the dog swimming out to sea.
Barney’s owner had been taking him for a seaside walk when a vehicle swerved out of control and struck them both. Spooked, Barney ran off and at some point got into the water and started swimming.
O’Connor told MSNBC:
“The accident scene was about a mile from where I found Barney swimming. Our guess is that he was so freaked out and traumatized that he just wanted to get as far away from there as possible. And when he ran out of land, he took to the water. I feel lucky that I was there fishing, because there was no place for him to go and I don’t know if he could have made it much farther. He’s banged up, but fine. Our hearts go out to the family who lost their mother.”
MSNBC reports that Barney is now safe and recovering with his owner’s family.
[Via: MSNBC]
