Something caught the attention of Bryn Crowell and his friends while they were kayaking off the coast of Florida. They decided to slow down and turn around to see what the unusual object was in the water.

From a distance, Bryn and his buddies assumed it was a misplaced hat, but when they got closer, everything changed.

Bryn explained to The Dodo: “My first reaction was, “Wow, that hat looks like a dog!” After another second, I realized it was a dog!” No one knows how the little dog ended up so far from shore, but it was clear that he was fighting for his life.

One of Bryn’s friends decided to jump in the water, grab the dog and carry him to safety on the boat. Bryn’s buddy captured the exact moment of the rescue on video and chose to share it on social media. The episode was so incredible that it went viral almost immediately.

The little pup was terrified and surprised, but he was very lucky to have been discovered by the sailors. Bryan continued, ”It looked like he just swam for his life.”

After inspecting him, the young men discovered that the dog was wearing a collar with a dog tag and his family information. So they decided to call to report his rescue, and they heard them crying, fussing, and being puzzled in the middle of the call.

According to the family of the dog named Zuko, they had gone sailing that day and had taken their dog with them. Zuko was very happy because it was his first time sailing, and he jumped every time a wave hit the boat.

The little puppy went overboard unbeknownst to his family, who mistook him for someone who was hiding in the boat.

They didn’t discover him after searching for a few minutes, so they decided to go back to where they had been exploring. It didn’t work out, but Zuko got a second start in life thanks to Bryn and his friends.

Bryan remarked: “When we went back to Zuko, we saw [his owners] sobbing and cuddling him.”