Yacht Rescues Stranded Dog Found Paddling in Florida Bay Over a Mile from Shore

Ellie the dog was rescued by a dinner cruise boat on Sunday, July 28 after she was spotted in the middle of the bay

<p>WINK News/YouTube</p> Ellie the dog after her rescue

WINK News/YouTube

Ellie the dog after her rescue

Doggy paddling helped a lost canine stay afloat until a rescue yacht arrived.

A boat captain and several other Good Samaritans helped Ellie the dog reunite with her family after finding her adrift off Fort Myers Beach, Florida — over a mile from shore — on Sunday, July 28, local outlet WINK News reported.

A couple aboard a dinner cruise on the Sanibel Harbor Princess first spotted Ellie paddling alone in the water. Captain Terry Johns, the captain of the dinner cruise yacht and a retired member of the Coast Guard, spotted the pup shortly after.

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Johns tells PEOPLE that halfway through the dinner cruise, with the boat taking its usual route towards Sanibel Island, he mingled with the guests while co-captain Kurt Echols drove the yacht. Next thing he knew, there was "a bunch of commotion" on the yacht when guests spotted Ellie in the water, roughly a mile-and-a-half off the coast.

"I looked out the window, and sure enough, I saw a little head swimming by," he tells PEOPLE. Johns says he saw the dog swimming towards the back of the boat, a dangerous spot for the canine to be near.

Echols "accurately maneuvered" the yacht to rescue Ellie by the swim platform she was paddling toward.

John says he had a clear spot to grab Ellie out of the water once the boat was in position, and the dog "was just as happy as she could be" to be out of the water.

The Sanibel Harbor Princess's crew and passengers gave Ellie food and water onboard the boat. Johns says the dog acted "very friendly" and "very happy" despite the conditions she watery endured.

Johns adds that he is proud of the yacht crew for using their training to save the pet effectively. Once the crew got Ellie back on land, they took her to a veterinarian.

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The vet found Ellie had a microchip, but it wasn't functioning correctly, Pam Vargas, the director of sales and marketing for the Sanibel Harbor Princess, tells PEOPLE. One of the boat's crew members volunteered to take the dog home until they found the pet's family. To help expedite the search, Johns contacted WINK News to share Ellie's rescue story.

The resulting news story was seen by Ellie's owners, Ben and Kathleen Baker, who were previously beside themselves after their dog disappeared during a boat trip. According to WINK News, the couple and Ellie were on their boat in the afternoon of July 28 when the dog went missing while the Bakers were focused on boat traffic.

When the couple noticed Ellie was missing, their boat trip became a fruitless search for the dog. The pet parents told the outlet they spent hours looking for the dog, zigzagging through the water until it was dark.

"I just figured that was it. I'm 72 years old, and I have probably cried more in the last 18 hours," Ben said.

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Thankfully, the Bakers saw Ellie on WINK News and realized their beloved dog had been saved from the water and was doing fine.

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Ben said he made some phone calls after catching his dog on the 5:30 news and was able to get Ellie back home soon after.

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Read the original article on People.