Lucky Dog Gets Adopted By Oil Rig Worker Who Found Him Swimming 135 Miles From Thai Coast

When you’re working on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean, you expect to see the occasional whale or dolphin swimming by, but a stray dog? Not so much.

That’s exactly what members of a Chevron crew spied struggling in the waters of the Gulf of Thailand 135 miles from coastal Songkhla.

The fuzzy brown pup, first spotted by offshore planner Vitisak Payalaw, was clearly in distress. “I thought that if we didn’t move quickly, I would not be able to help him,” Payalaw told CNN.

As the rescue efforts continued, the water was becoming increasingly choppy. Several attempts to reel in the dog failed.

The crew feared he’d be swept back out to sea, but the pooch managed to keep his tenuous hold on the platform.

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“His eyes were so sad,” Payalaw said. “He just kept looking up just like he wanted to say, ‘please help me.’”

Finally, the workers were able to secure the dog with a rope harness and pull him to safety. By then, he was understandably shaking and exhausted.

After cleaning him up and giving him fresh water and food, the crew named him Boonrod, which means “he has done good karma and that helps him to survive,” Payalaw told NPR.

Boonrod was identified as an aspin, a breed native to the Philippines. No one knows exactly how he came to be in the waters so far offshore, although the Bangkok Post speculated he’d most likely fallen from a fishing trawler.

On April 15, after two days’ recuperation, Boonrod was sent by boat to the mainland where he received veterinary care before being transferred to an animal shelter.

“A vessel transporting the dog arrived onshore at around 10 a.m.,” Payalaw posted to his Facebook page. “His overall condition has improved. He is getting stronger and can smile.’’

But the plucky pup’s good luck didn’t stop there. Payalaw had become so attached to Boonrod, he vowed that if no one claimed ownership, he’d adopt the dog himself.

Because he was on duty, Payalaw had to wait 10 days before being reunited with his new best friend. Since no owner had come forward, Boonrod was made an official member of Payalaw’s family on the spot—much to their mutual delight.

“I’m very very, happy with my new dog,” Payalaw said in an interview with The Dodo. “He’s a good dog for me and a good dog for my family, too.” Payalaw says while he’s not married, Boorod has become “like a son” to him.

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There’s a saying that goes, “Dogs have a way of finding the people that need them.” Boonrod may have had more obstacles to overcome than most canines when it came to finding that special person to call his own, but he proved that even an ocean wasn’t enough to keep him and his beloved Payalaw apart.

(WATCH the video of the incredible rescue below on The Dodo… )

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