Firefighters Rescue 'Tuna' from FL Bay

Tuna can be found in the water, but this Tuna is no fish — as the Miami Beach firefighters who rescued her might tell you.

Sunday morning, Amandine Lorenzo was playing with Tuna at a small dog park on West 23rd Street, just past North Bay Road, in Miami Beach. It was the first time there for both pet and owner.

Lorenzo adopted the frisky American Bulldog/Staffordshire Terrier mix from the county’s animal shelter in Doral about a year and a half ago. Sunday, the brindle-colored dog was wearing a vest that said “do not pet” because she is in training and full of energy, Lorenzo said.

All was well until the 3-year-old pooch unexpectedly tumbled about six feet straight down into Sunset Lake, she told the Miami Herald. The lake is near Sunset Islands, close to Bayshore Golf Course.

“She got close to the seawall to see the water. When I told her to get down, she turned around but lost her balance and fell,” Lorenzo said in Spanish.

Lorenzo ran to the street and called for help, but there was nobody there, she said.

Unable to find a way to pull the 50-pounder up and out, the South Beach resident called 911.

“I felt ashamed for calling 911, but I really had no other option,” Lorenzo, 30, said.

A video posted on Twitter by the Miami Beach Fire Department shows two firefighters using a roof ladder to get down to the bay and save Tuna. In the video, Tuna can be seen nestled on one firefighter’s shoulder.

After Tuna was carried to safety, Lorenzo put a pink leash on her, and several firefighters petted her until she shook energetically to dry herself, the video shows.

The firefighters stepped back and laughed.

“The team of firefighters were great,” Lorenzo said.

She said authorities should fence the area or at the very least install warning signs.

“If a dog or a child falls into the bay, there is no easy way to get down to save them,” Lorenzo said.

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