NEW PORT RICHEY, FLORIDA — Sheriff’s deputies rescued a dog trapped and stranded on a mangrove island last week. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit responded to a call from a member of the public notifying them of the dog’s precarious position, Patch reported.
After receiving the call, the Sheriff’s Office commissioned an airboat rescue mission to look for the canine. When they found the dog – a black, female Pitbull-Labrador mix – she was caught up in the mangroves and unable to free herself. Presumably she swam to the mangroves since she was unable to locate solid ground nearby.
Deputies were able to reach her from the airboat and securely lift her up into the boat. They took her to a nearby area close to Green Key Park, where Pasco County Animal Services picked her up. Deputies did not know how the dog found herself so far from land nor the identity of her owner.
Animal rescue was a heart-warming theme during and after the devastation of Hurricane Ian. One man in Fort Myers even risked his life to rescue a dog from drowning in the midst of the storm’s most violent hours. Another man in Bonita Beach braved the hurricane surge to save a cat that found herself stranded outside on top of an air conditioning unit surrounded by rising flood waters.
