2 dogs rescued from boat

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Two Chihuahuas survived overnight in a capsized boat after a search for the dogs was abandoned Sunday in the Laguna Madre off South Padre Island.

Four adults and their two pet Chihuahuas were aboard a 16-foot red Mirrocraft that began sinking after leaving a boat ramp near Jim’s Pier on the Island, witnesses said.

“I assume the dogs were a male and a female,” said Wesley Delafosse, a fishing guide. “One of them was wearing a little dress.”

The names of the boaters were not available from the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday.

A man on the boat called for someone to throw a rope from shore, witnesses said. Delafosse said the boat did not appear to have its drain plugs secured.

Someone threw a rope, which was tied to a bow davit on the Mirrocraft. By then, Delafosse said the boat’s stern was sinking and the bow had begun to rise.

The boat flipped over when people on shore began pulling the rope, Delafosse said.

People appeared from beneath the overturned boat and clung to its sides. One of the women was almost hysterical and screaming for her “babies,” Delafosse said.

The fishing guide entered the water to help the woman ashore. “Let’s get you to safety first, and then we’ll worry about the dogs,” he told her.

Delafosse dove and searched for the dogs in the capsized boat but quit because of gas fumes in the forward compartment were so strong he couldn’t breath, he said.

For the next couple hours, people searched the north and south sides of the ramp at Jim’s Pier. The dogs were not to be found, and were presumed drowned, Delafosse said.

“I have searchlights on my boat, and the tide was very low,” he said, “and there was no sign of them anywhere.”

At approximately 2 p.m. Monday, the capsized boat was floated and towed — still capsized — to the dock, Delafosse said.

Once ashore, someone heard a noise from inside the Mirrocraft. They flipped the boat and opened the front hatch.

Two frightened Chihuahuas jumped out.

“They were shivering and shaking, and they smelled like gas,” said Delafosse, “but they were sure glad to see us.”

After a quick rinse with a dockside hose, the dogs were reunited with their owners.

“The people lost all their fishing tackle, but they got their dogs back,” Delafosse said. “Still, I don’t think I’d want to be the next person to try to put one of those dogs on a boat.”