Dog Involved in Deadly DUI Crash Swims Half Mile to Kayaker, Traumatized, but Survives

Fishing in a kayak half a mile off the coast of Sarasota, Florida a man was greeted with a surprising guest swimming up to his boat, Barney the dog. The fisherman quickly reeled in his fishing line once he saw the dog — something I’m not sure if I would be quick enough to realize to do — and pulled Barney into his kayak. He dried the dog off and headed for shore, and during this time, Barney was perched on the back of kayak, a very small space, too afraid to move, clearly traumatized in some way. Obviously, small dogs don’t regularly end up half a mile out to sea, and it was apparent by that and the way the little guy was acting that he was involved in something unfortunate. It turned out Barney was involved in a deadly DUI crash; he was out for a jog with his owner, and a drunk driver struck and killed her not too long before the dog fled to sea. Fortunately, the story doesn’t end badly for poor Barney.

After bringing the dog to shore, he wouldn’t leave the kayak. The fisherman brought barney to a vet, and the dog only sustained a few minor injuries. Using a tracking implant, the vet discovered that Barney belonged to Donna L. Chen, which is what led to the discovery of the crash and Donna’s unfortunate fate.

The 22-year-old driver, Blake Talman, was fleeing from an earlier crash when he hit both Chen and Barney. He struck a pole, then the pair of joggers, which hit Chen into the middle of the road, and caused Barney to flee. Talman faces charges of DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage, among others.

Though Chen was killed by the crash, miraculously, Barney survived. Luckily for the dog and the family that just lost Chen, Barney was returned to the family, surely a bit of comfort in a time of mourning.

The fisherman, who commented on his YouTube video that he keeps a camera rolling at all times while fishing just in case he catches a big one, caught Barney swimming up to his boat on film. If you watch the top right portion of the video closely, you can see a little black dot bobbing through the water, which eventually turns out to be Barney swimming up to the boat. Watch the video below.

(via CBS Tampa)

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