At about 7:30 on Thursday morning, a fisherman saw a small dog's nose
rising above the waves about 2 miles from the St. Petersburg shoreline
in Tampa Bay. He pulled it from the water and took it to a marina at
Demens Landing Park.
It's not clear how the dog got into the water, nor how long she had been
treading water before she was rescued.
Anthony Basile was going to pay rent for his boat slip when he saw the
fishermen putting the dog on the dock. He took the dog, named Baby, to
his boat and has been caring for her since. "It's sad," Basile said.
"The dog is lost." Basile said Baby could barely take care of herself
and it didn't take long for him to get attached. When he first took Baby
to his boat he wasn't sure she would even make it.
"I tried to give her some food. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't drink.
Just shaking scared," Basile said. He sat with her for hours making sure
she was warm while trying to calm her down. So far efforts to figure
that out what happened to Baby lead to more questions. She has a collar
on with her name on it,
even a phone number to call, but it has been disconnected.
Baby is well trained and friendly. She is clearly comfortable on
Basile's boat and is now eating, drinking and making herself more at
home.
But Basile says she knows this isn't where she is supposed to be. "If
you watch the dog, she's looking for somebody else," he said. Until he
can find that person, he will treat her like she is his own baby. "I'm
not going to leave the dogs side. I'll find a home for her or keep her
as long as it has to be," Basile said. He also took her to the vet where
they scanned the dog and found a micro chip. They found one and have
tried to contact the person listed, but so far, no luck.
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