A fisherman kayaking on the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend made one catch he’ll never forget — a dog swimming for his lifetime off the Siesta Key coast.
What initially seemed like a bizarre rescue really 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 community 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 outside of control, striking Chen and Barney, as well as some landscaping, a street sign, a telephone border, and distinct wooden poles lining the entrance to a church, according tot he Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Talman and his passenger were both taken to a community 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 outside and traumatized that he just wanted to get as far away from there as imaginable,” he wrote in the video’s description. “And when he ran outside of land, he took to the aqua.”
The kayaker pulled the visibly distraught and injured dog to safety. He is immediately with the family and is expected to constitute a complete recovery.
Talman, 22, is charged with DUI manslaughter in addition to DUI property hurt and personal injury.
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