Dog Rescued After Being Found Swimming in the Middle of the Ocean

Dramatic footage has captured the moment a man heroically came to the rescue of a dog that was found swimming far out at sea.

In a video posted to TikTok by bryncrowell, a fully-clothed man can be seen swimming back toward his boat with the small canine in tow.

Several of his friends onboard the vessel help to lift the dog over the side of the boat and onto the safety of the deck with his rescuer climbing up, close behind.

"My friends and I saved a dog we found swimming alone in the middle of the ocean," a caption accompanying the video reads. The clip can be watched here.

Shaking the water from its fur coat, the dog also appears visibly shaken by the experience, or possibly exhausted given the amount of swimming they would have had to do.

At the time of writing, bryncrowell's video of the astonishing rescue has been viewed more than 9.6 million times, with fans flocking to praise their efforts.

"Thank you to the man who jumped into the ocean to save that dog. I appreciate you," saaal994 wrote. "Bless, you guys were at the right place at the right time," Ghostryderrc agreed.

Baloo_the_hound added: "This is why your dog should always have a life vest on! My dog is a strong swimmer and we always use one. They are so lucky!"

Despite earning plaudits from many on TikTok, others appeared convinced the rescue had been somehow staged. DaftyOne claimed the video was "so staged" while Matt Cutshall lamented: "The things people stage for TikTok."

However, any notion that the rescue was fake was soon dispelled in a series of follow-up videos. In one clip, bryncrowell updated fans to say that they found a phone number on the dog's collar which they called.

Within 20 minutes he was reunited with his owners who were "crying and thankful he was safe." That video, which has been viewed 2.1 million times, can be watched here.

In another follow-up video, bryncrowell also shared a series of screenshots from the dog's owner that explained how he ended up swimming on his own in such deep waters.

According to the messages, the dog, who is called Zuko, is "a puppy and still very new to being on a boat."

"He was hopping around the back of the boat 'biting' at the waves that were passing by, and I guess in one of these moments he must've jumped a little too high and jumped overboard," his owner explained.

"Once we noticed he was missing we all searched the boat thinking he was hiding in one of the rooms with his bone.

" We kept going up and down where we had traveled trying to retrace our path and we had no luck ... after 7 mental breakdowns you guys called us and it was a miracle."

Zuko's owner said he had "never done anything like this before" yet despite the drama of the day's events they were "so happy" after he was found alive and well.

Newsweek has contacted bryncrowell for comment.

Discover Boating says the first thing you should do before taking to the high seas with your dog is to get them fitted with a canine life jacket.

"When buying a life jacket for your dog make sure it's a good fit. Even though most dogs can swim, high seas or fatigue can cause drowning in even the most avid of swimmers, so don't risk it, get your dog a life jacket," the website says.

"Even if your dog doesn't drown if he goes overboard for any reason, excessive fatigue can cause numerous problems."

This story is just the latest heartwarming example of humans coming to the rescue of their canine companions. There was also the recent example of a couple who drove hours to rescue a homeless dog after learning it was about to be put down.

Meanwhile, a drone company has put together a plan to rescue four dogs stranded as a result of the lava from the Cumbre Viejo volcano eruption on the Canary Islands in Spain.