Pics: Dog rescued after found swimming 220 kilometres out at sea

Photo Cred: Vitisak Payalaw Facebook

An oil drilling team 220 kilometres off the coast of Thailand rescued a dog swimming around the rig.

Thailand – Workers on the oil rig noticed the dog’s head poking out above the waves as he paddled through the ocean last Friday. They called out to the exhausted animal, and he swam towards them, taking refuge among the rusty metal poles of the rig.

The dog, found about 220km from the shore, was believed to have fallen from a fishing trawler.

Images and a video clip of the shivering dog being rescued were posted on Facebook by a team member on Friday.

Vitisak Payalaw, of Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production’s oil drilling team, wrote on Facebook: “On April 12, we found a dog trying to swim to a pole of our oil platform, about 220km from the shore. As wind waves were rather calm that afternoon, we could clearly see its head and water rippling as he was swimming toward our oil platform.

If the waves had been strong, we wouldn’t have seen him.

After the dog managed to cling to the pole, he did not make any noise or bark. We tried to find ways to rescue it. Finally, we decided to tie a rope around his neck and pull him to our site. We had to race against time as wind waves might sweep him away. Rescue efforts might be difficult if he had been swept away.

At last, we did it.

The dog was pulled from the sea safely. He looked exhausted. Now, we are taking care of him and will later bring him ashore. The dog might have fallen from a fishing trawler or jumped into the sea possibly to escape abuse on the vessel.’’

Once on board they cleaned the pup and gave him some fresh water and an electrolyte drink, naming him Boonrod, which means “survivor.”

The pup was transferred by a crane to another oil vessel that was passing through the area and returning to shore. He was taken to a Vet in Songkhla, southern Thailand.

Vitisak told the local press that he would like to adopt her if no owner comes forward.