You come across a lot of things on the lakes and rivers in the U.S. Some of the more common items include other boats, logs, and fish, but who would expect to come across a dog in the middle of the water. That is what happened to one Michigan family on an outing on the lake.

What started out as a family outing turned into a life-saving effort.

A trip on Lake Michigan

When Jeannie Wilcox and her family took a boat trip on Lake Michigan, they planned on a simple 12-hour journey from Grand Haven to Frankfurt, Michigan. About 8 hours into the trip, Jeannie spotted something in the water. As the boat got closer, they could see that it was a dog.

A dog in the water

The dog was treading water four miles from shore. As soon as she saw the dog, she screamed for her husband to stop. She knew that something had to be done immediately if the dog was going to be saved. Who knew how long the dog had been out in the water? If they had waited any longer the dog could have drowned.

All hands on deck

Pulling up alongside the dog-paddling pooch, the family pulled her onto the boat via the boat’s swim platform. They quickly dried the shivering dog off. Soon questions turned to how she had gotten out in the middle of Lake Michigan in the first place.

Taking the dog to safety

Once the family had calmed down from the excitement and they were sure the dog was okay, they took a detour to Belmont, MI, four hours away. Once there, the family had the dog scanned for a microchip, which she had. After that, it was just a matter of contacting her owners.

“I just hope that if this was my dog, somebody would do the same for me. I would just be very grateful, happy because I know how rough Lake Michigan can be,” Jeannie told WTCM 480 News.

Reuniting the dog with her owners

The dog, named Vayla had been on a sailboat with her owners heading south on Lake Michigan. Unknown to her owners, at the time, she had fallen overboard.

“[The owners] said she likes to ride on the bow and kind of pets the waves,” Jeannie said Vayla’s owners explained to her. “I can totally see how she would accidentally just… roll over [into the lake].”

A life saved

Fortunately, Jeannie and her family were there to save the day. Who knows what would have happened if their boat hadn’t come upon her when it did, or it had been dark? But fate was in Vayla’s favor, and the Wilcox family was able to get her out of the lake and back with her owners.

For more on this lucky dog and her story, watch the video below.

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Sources: YouTube – WOOD TV8, The Animal Rescue Site