![dogsea](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2018/09/1200/675/dog_rescued_3_hours_after_going_missing_5_1256678_ver1.0_640_360.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Boaters off the coast of Hernando Beach found a dog floating in the water. (Courtesy FOX13)
The term “sea dog” typically refers to an experienced sailor. But “sea dog” became a literal description on Sunday when a Jack Russell terrier – wearing an animal life vest – was spotted floating in the water five miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
Two couples boating off the coast of Hernando Beach, Fla., initially believed the puppy was a buoy, FOX13 reported.
“You just saw his little nose sticking up out of the water,” Shawn Sahr said.
The Jack Russell doggy-paddled to the boat and Michael Sahr, Shawn’s husband, pulled it out of the water. The Coast Guard later told the Sahrs that someone had reported a dog overboard three hours earlier.
“It’s like a needle in a haystack and the waves were pretty choppy,” Michael said.
The dog was brought to a Coast Guard station and the puppy’s owner rushed in to be reunited with his AWOL pooch – whose name was Jägermeister.
Said Shawn: “If we weren’t as close as we were, within five to 10 feet, we wouldn’t have seen him.”