While on a fishing boat with her family, a 7-year-old girl spotted a dog in the waters of Sarasota Bay. They rescued the dog using a cast net and saw he had a harness with his information attached. The dog's name is Shiba Inu Sampson, and he is 16, deaf and partially blind.
It turns out, Sampson lives on a boat near the Seafood Shack Marina near the Cortez Bridge in Bradenton. The family called the phone number from the dog's harness several times and no one answered. Then they went boat-by-boat to find out exactly where Sampson lived. Thanks to the help of some neighbors, they found the right deck to drop off the doggo.
Arlene Williams is Sampson's owner and was asleep on the boat when he slipped in to the water. She woke up just before 2 a.m. and saw her wet pup lying outside. At first she thought he was just a little wet from being outside overnight, but then she saw several texts and seven missed phone calls from the family.
If the family would not have gone the extra few nautical miles, Arlene would have woken up to the horrific mysterious disappearance of her beloved 16-year-old dog.
To see a photo of the girl and the dog click here.
Williams has since visited the family at their Bradenton bakery to thank them and that's your (SPLASH) good news, baby!