Man's new best friend: Passerby dog saves man in SC river

OKATIE, S.C. — A dog has saved a man whose boat capsized in a South Carolina river.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head Island reports it was pure luck that Woody was outside Wednesday when 24-year-old Mason Ringer was struggling in the Okatie River. The 7-year-old yellow Labrador retriever jumped into the choppy, 58-degree water and pulled Ringer toward a nearby dock.

A Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report says Ringer was one of three men who survived after the boat overturned.

Ringer and his two co-workers had gone in the boat during their lunch break from refurbishing a dock. One man managed to swim and get out of the river, the other was pulled out by a private community's staff.

Ringer says he owes Woody a big steak after the "miracle."

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Associated Press