A German Shepherd-Husky mix that fell out of a fishing boat in the Pacific Ocean 80 miles off the coast of San Diego was found alive more than a month later.
Fisherman Nick Haworth reported her missing on Feb. 10, telling authorities that his dog was a strong swimmer and would head toward land. The nearest shoreline was San Clemente Island, home to a U.S. Navy base and about two miles from where the dog fell into the water, according to ABC News.
Sandy DeMunnik, public affairs officer for the base, said staff helped Haworth search the island for the dog, but with no luck. But on the morning of March 15 the dog showed up to greet Navy staff as they arrived on the island for work.
“They saw Luna just sitting on the side of the road, wagging her tail,” DeMunnik told the station. “Keep in mind, there are no domesticated animals on the island, so it was a stunning sight.”
Navy staff were able to determine that Luna was the dog who fell off the boat last month, DeMunnik said. She also said they immediately informed Hayworth that Luna was alive and well.
Hayworth “was actually out in the middle of a lake with horrible reception when he got the news,” DeMunnik said. “He had to do all sorts of acrobatics to get signal, but he was ecstatic — jumping up and down.”
A wildlife biologist for the San Diego Zoo examined Luna and determined that the dog was “perfectly healthy, other than being a little undernourished,” DeMunnik said.
“It looks like she’d been surviving off of mice for the past few weeks,” DeMunnik said.
DeMunnik also said Luna’s survival was “incredibly remarkable,” considering the canine had to also tough out bad weather from recent storms.
