When Captain Keith “Kiwi” Soffes’s beloved dog Monster somehow fell off the back of his shrimping boat in San Leon, Texas, the seafarer says he felt “totally heartbroken.”
But after a barrage of social media posts designed to spread awareness of the missing Monster, the roving canine was eventually discovered five days later having seemingly managed to swim about six miles to safety.
Now Monster is back home with her human, safe and sound. Her mishap is a reminder to all of us, as pet parents, to practice water safety with our dogs, even if they are strong swimmers.
Monster’s Mishap At Sea
Soffes admits that he didn’t actually notice that Monster had gone overboard until he arrived back at land. But noticing that Monster wasn’t pulling on the nets as usual, Soffes realized that she must have gone missing while out at sea.
Writing in a post on Facebook, Soffes relayed his hurt:
“I lost the one thing in this world that I truly loved. My best friend. Monster dog. We don’t really know what happened. We think she fell off the boat on a slick calm day.. she had been on the boat her whole life [since] she was a puppy. I searched and searched.. hopefully somebody picked her up. We were around marker number 71 . If anyone [hears] any talk about her please contact me. Totally heartbroken.”
As awareness of the missing pooch spread, Monster was thankfully discovered five days later tied safely to a post in a trailer park.
Soffes was alerted and finally reunited with his canine pal, who had apparently decided to swim all the way back to land after stumbling overboard.
Remember, Not All Dogs Are Natural Swimmers!
(Stock Picture Credit: Gustav Stening/Getty Images)Monster might be a dog who seems to enjoy a good long swim session. But did you know that not all dogs are instinctive swimmers?
It turns out there are actually three ways to categorize canines based on their swimming ability:
- Dog like Golden Retrievers, Irish Water Spaniels, and Portuguese Water Dogs who can naturally swim well and are often bred specifically for water activities.
- Dogs who need a little help swimming, such as smaller breeds like Maltese and Chihuahua pups.
- Dogs who aren’t natural swimmers, a category that can include Basset Hounds, Boxers, and Pugs.
Whether your dog is a strong swimmer or not, it’s always good to take safety precautions when you have your pooch near the water. Every dog can benefit from a doggy lifejacket at sea. You never know when something could go horribly wrong, like it did for Monster.
Does your dog enjoy super long swims like Monster? How often does your dog like to take a dip in the water? Let us know in the comments below!
