A DOG that went overboard in a storm has been reunited with its owners after swimming up to “two days” to reach dry land.
Olice in Spain went public with the incredible survival story after handing over the remarkable four-legged survivor to the distraught couple who thought they would never see her again.
Jolie appeared on a beach in Aguilas near the southeastern city of Murcia last Friday, and was left with local police by benefactors who found her.
Officers discovered she was wearing a microchip fitted in Denmark and after taking her to a council-run rescue center they received a call from a woman who said a friend’s daughter had lost her dog in a storm while she was on the run. sailed to Ibiza.
The miracle rescue had a happy ending with a reunion between the dog and its owners earlier this week, when police confirmed they believed Jolie “swam for one or two days to reach shore”.
There are more than 160 nautical miles between Aguilas on the Spanish mainland and Ibiza, although it was not clear today where exactly the animal went overboard.
A spokesman for the Aguilas local police said: “Last Friday evening, a family who had been to the beach handed us a dog they had found on Cope Beach in Aguilas.
“We discovered that he was carrying a microchip from Denmark.
“The animal was taken to a shelter and efforts were made to find its owners.
“Meanwhile, a woman in Cadiz received a call telling us that she had received a call from a friend in the United States who told her about an incident involving her daughter.
“That daughter was sailing in the Mediterranean with her husband and dog Jolie and was on her way to Ibiza and was swept up in a storm that left Jolie in the sea.
“They tried to find and save it, but to no avail.
“Thanks to the microchip, it was confirmed that the animal that reached Aguilas was Jolie, the same dog that had fallen into the sea.
“Her owners got the good news and they went to the nearest port, Calpe north of Benidorm, and a few hours later they were in Aguilas to pick up Jolie.
“Jolie is a true survivor. It is estimated that she swam for one or two days to reach the shore.
“A beautiful ending to an incredible survival story.”