Kayaker finds dog half-mile from shore

SIESTA KEY, Fla. (CNN) - A fisherman got quite the surprise when a dog paddled up to his kayak, but there’s a very sad story behind the unusual catch.

You're out fishing for small sharks and mackerel off Florida's Siesta Key when you catch -- a dog? Well, he didn't actually catch the dog; the dog caught him.

“He seemed to be making a beeline toward me,” said Rory O’Connor.

O'Connor lifted the Hungarian vizsla, named Barney, onto his kayak.

“I usually keep the camera running, just in case I catch the big one,” said O’Connor. “He's such a sweet dog.”

But this story has no sweet, happy ending.

“I immediately saw that he was in distress,” said O’Connor. “He was shaking a lot.”

His legs were cut up, and one paw was especially bad.

Hungarian vizslas are excellent swimmers, but this one seemed in danger of drowning. The kayaker said the dog was a half-mile from shore and struggling.

O’Connor patted and rubbed the dog.

“My first thought was, ‘He's fallen off a boat; maybe slipped off while the owner wasn't paying attention,’” said O’Connor.

So O’Connor approached the closest boat, asking if the people on the boat had lost a dog.

But Barney's trip started as a walk. Donna Chen, a 53-year-old wife and mother of three, was jogging with Barney on Saturday afternoon when police said a man lost control of his car as he rounded a bend.

Police said he was driving drunk and speeding away from another accident he'd caused moments before. When the dog's owner was struck and killed, Barney bolted and ended up running across the Key and into the Gulf.

“I mean, who knows what he was thinking,” said O’Connor. “He was trying to get as far away from that scene as possible, I imagine.”

When O’Connor landed the kayak, Barney was so scared he wouldn't get off the boat at first. O’Connor’s sister took the dog to a vet.

The driver who allegedly killed Chen -- 22-year-old Blake Talman -- held back tears in court as his lawyer argued for bail, saying Talman would soon be a father.

“He has a child on the way due in about two months,” said his attorney.He now faces charges, ranging from DUI to negligent manslaughter.

Meanwhile, Barney's injuries weren't serious. He's back with his family after going for a walk and a swim before ending up in a lifeboat.