Rory O’Connor was fishing in the Gulf of Mexico when a dog swam up to his kayak. He pulled the injured pup out of the water and tried to find his owner. O’Connor phones his sister, who took the dog to a vet. Fortunately, Barney had an ID chip, and when they contacted the owner, they discovered she had been killed by an alleged drunk driver. Barney had been out for a stroll with his owner when the two were hit. Local reports say the driver was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage and personal injury.
Thanks to O'Conner and his family, Barney is safe and recovering with his owner’s family.
O’Connor told me how he found Barney: “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.”