Photo credit: U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach
The moment the Coast Guard station in Fort Myers Beach, Florida got the call they raced to their rescue boat, jumped in and headed out. They knew they had to act fast.
“We got a call saying there was a dog stranded a few hundred yards off the beach,” Coast Guard machinery technician, Ryan Brousseau told Watchdog Mary.
As the team sped offshore everyone on board had their eyes peeled looking for the pooch in the choppy water. “We all knew he was probably scared,” Brousseau said.
A few hundred yards off the beach they spotted a little head and sped over. There was a red-ish colored dog, paddling his way through the waves.
Posted by U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach on Wednesday, December 4, 2019
“He wasn’t panicking, he was kind of out there for a swim,” Brousseau said. “It was a light chop to the water and he probably couldn’t see too well, so he didn’t know which way he was going.”
Brousseau’s crew mate, Kevin Araiza reached down and initially scooped the dog out of the water. Then Brousseau helped grab the pooch’s hind legs. Together they lifted him into the boat.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief the dog was safe, but he was in a bit of rough shape.
“He was shaking pretty bad,” Brousseau said. “I’m not sure if it was because of the water temperature or being scared and nervous with new people. We just talked to him and tried to keep him as calm as possible. I think he knew we were there to make him safe.”
As they headed back to shore the team started trying to figure out who he belonged to. A number to a veterinarian’s office on one dog’s tags ended up being their biggest clue.
“We called and the vet’s office spent several minutes going through their computer system and found the owner who lives on Ft. Myers Beach,” Brousseau said.
As the crew was still trying to locate the dog’s owner they docked the boat and tried to warm the dog up. “We grabbed one of our wool blankets offered him water. He was still out of it,” Brousseau said.
Then they got good news: The owner was on the way.
And as soon as the dog saw his owner the pooch’s demeanor totally changed.
“He knew who he was and ran toward him,” Brousseau said.
For the Coast Guard Crew of Fort Meyers Beach, it was a successful case closed. And for Brousseau, it was his first canine at-sea rescue.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of people rescuing, women, children, and adults, but animals are a lot different. They have no means of where they’re at and it’s scarier. It’s a great feeling, it’s my first dog rescue ever in 13 years.”
