A group sailing off the coast of Italy stumbled upon an unbelievable sight. The members of the RYCC Savoia Club were out in the Gulf of Naples when they spotted something far off in the rolling waves. It was steadily coming towards them and once it got closer they could barely believe their eyes.
A small, yellow little puppy was struggling to keep its head above water as it paddled towards their boat! The group quickly jumped into action and urged the dog towards them, if they couldn’t reach the puppy it would definitely end up drowning. At this point they were at least a mile offshore and were sailing in some very cold, open water.
After several tense moments the puppy made it to the side of the boat and was immediately hauled out of the freezing water by the scruff of its neck. A woman quickly embraced the exhausted animal and set about trying to warm her up. She rubbed the puppy quickly to help restore her blood flow and soon afterwards wrapped her up in a jacket and held her close.
The dog cried weakly and her legs were sluggish. She was visibly exhausted and trembling, but otherwise she looked okay. The group called for a rescue boat to come take her back to shore, where she was dried, warmed up with a hairdryer, and reunited with her owner.
Soon after the story about how the poor puppy came to be lost at sea emerged. Earlier that morning a dog named Noodle had boarded a ferry in Naples with her owner, Mario Di Meglio, who was bringing his new puppy home. They were headed to the island of Ischia, which is around 20 miles West of Naples, when suddenly Noodle slipped out of her leash and fell overboard.
Mario immediately told the ferry crew and tried to get them to turn back and rescue his puppy, but they wouldn’t stop and told him that it was likely she had already drowned. However, Noodle stayed afloat and paddled for at least the next half hour before her rescuers finally spotted her and picked her up.
The ferry company apologized for the incident and have since launched an internal investigation into their crews response and what exactly happened. Mario and Noodle are back together and are eternally grateful for the quick actions undertaken by the awesome group of sailors who rescued the stricken puppy.
It’s wonderful to know that there’s a happy ending to this unbelievable story that could have so easily ended tragically. It makes me want to hold my pets a little closer tonight and be thankful they are all well and safe.
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