Ten Stitches Later: Three Maltese Boaters Rescue Drowning Dog From Ta’ Xbiex Marina
Three Maltese boaters came together to help save Skye, the three-year old Boxer, from drowning at the Ta’ Xbiex Marina.
Tiziana, one of Skye’s rescuers, spoke to Lovin Malta about the incident that took place last Friday.
Having headed out with her partner for what was meant to be a day out at sea, the day’s events were anything but predictable.
“We had just left the shore when we saw a man pointing at something struggling underwater”, Tiziana said.
“I initially thought it was a duck, but then I focused and realised it was actually a dog.”
At that point, Tiziana and her partner, Etienne, took it upon themselves to bring the dog back to dry land – but it proved to be a much harder feat than they had previously suspected.
“Etienne went ahead and jumped in; I took the canoe and paddled closer to him.”
“My partner tried to prop him up onto the canoe – but he ended up biting him out of sheer fear.”
As Tiziana struggled to help the dog up, Etienne suffered from a large gash on his nose. Luckily, help wasn’t too far away.
“We saw a sailing boat pass by and we started shouting for help, initially it kept moving, but when its passengers heard our cries for help, it turned back.”
Gabrielle, one of the passengers aboard said sailing boat handed the couple a rope and helped them bring Skye up to their boat.
Meanwhile, Tiziana took her partner to the Emergency Room to get his nose quite literally stitched up.
By the time the couple got back to the marina, Animal Welfare officers were at the scene and had managed to trace the dog’s owner.
“Weirdly enough, the dog had been taken in by a completely new owner the day before the incident.”
Once the officers brought Skye’s owner to the scene, they were surprised to hear that he didn’t want the him anymore.
These words prompted Tiziana and Etienne to jump into action.
“At that point, Etienne just said that we’ll take him – so currently, we’re planning on fostering him until he finds a loving home.”
“If the owner tries to claim the dog back, rest assured we will sue him for the damages done to Etienne.”
At the moment, Skye is at the APH Veterinary Hospital, recovering from this hectic ordeal. Animal Welfare officers haven’t yet contacted Tiziana and Etienne with updates about Skye’s health.