Dog Lost at Sea Turns Up Weeks Later

An enterprising dog is being reunited with her owner five weeks after she was presumed lost at sea. Luna's tale begins on Feb. 10, when the 18-month-old German shepherd somehow went over the side of owner Nick Hayworth's fishing boat as he was pulling in lobster traps, reports the AP. He fruitlessly searched the waters off San Clemente Island, a Navy-owned training base near San Diego. He also notified Navy authorities, who did the same. Luna was presumed dead—right up until the moment Navy staff arriving for work on the island Tuesday spotted her by the side of the road.

"She was just sitting there wagging her tail," says a Navy spokesperson. She'd managed to swim the 2 miles to shore and evidently survived for weeks by dining on rodents and washed-up fish. A vet pronounced her a little thin but otherwise healthy, and the Navy flew her to the mainland. A family friend picked her up because Hayworth was out of town, but owner and dog will be reunited on Thursday night. "It's really just blowing my mind, to tell you the truth," the friend tells NBC 7. (More dogs stories.)