Working on a fishing boat, or on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean, certainly comes with quite a bit of adventure. The men and women who work in these professions not only have to worry about what’s going on with their ship or oil rig, but they also need to worry about what’s going on in the water around them. These experienced oil drillers thought that they had prepared themselves for just about anything, but when they looked out into the water, they realized nothing could have prepared them for what was quickly approaching.They were in the Gulf of Thailand, about 130 miles away from the shore, and the day seemed to be going along as it normally did. That was until the workers realized that there was something strange floating in the distance.
When they took a closer close, they quickly realized that there was actually a dog in the water, paddling through the waves. The workers immediately knew that they had to do something to help this relentless canine.
When the dog finally reached her destination, she climbed to safety onto the rig’s metal bars. Once she was out of the water, the oil drillers lowered a rope down to the pup so they could pull her onto the boat.
“After she made it onto the bars below the rig she didn’t cry or bark at all. We looked for a way to help her and in the end, decided to use the rope to tie around her body to lift her up,” explained Khon.
Boonrod slept on the platform of the rig for two nights. Soon enough, another oil vessel arrived and used a crane to bring her to a veterinarian in Thailand.
“When we first took her on board she was depressed and tired from being in the water for a long time. When we gave her water and minerals her symptoms improved,” recalled Khon.
“We found her trying to swim towards our rig, which is about 220 kilometers (136 miles) from the shore. Thankfully the sea was quite still because the wind was calm,” said Khon.
Before she left, the crew named her Boonrod, which roughly translated Thai means “survivor” or “the saved one.” Considering the circumstance, they couldn’t have picked a better name. The pup is currently being cared for at a rescue center in Songkhla, Southern Thailand.
