Captain to the Rescue

On April 28, Capt. Andrew Reid saved Bella, a 12-pound Shih Tzu, from a watery death in Nassau, The Bahamas, after she jumped off M/Y Angela Dawn, a 77-foot Lazzara LSX Express Cruiser, into the water.

The captain’s brother, Mate Mark Reid, says Capt. Reid took a huge risk in saving Bella. During the incident, he heard his brother yelling, “Take my dog, take my dog!” to three guys walking down the dock. “He was in the water holding Bella overhead as he fought the swift current moving through the channel,” Mate Reid says, noting that the captain struggled just to stay afloat. “The three guys [were] yelling ‘there are bull sharks in those waters!’”

Bella’s owners Gene and Angie Loving were very grateful to the captain — who just completed his fourth year as captain with them. “He got a hold of the dog and he could barely get back to the boat because of the current,” says Gene, the chairman and CEO of Max Media. Gene reached out to Dockwalk to make sure Capt. Reid receives recognition as he and his wife know he risked his life to save their pet.

“Bella was rescued twice,” Gene told Dockwalk. “First three years ago from the Shih Tzu rescue place in Davie where we got her, and again by Capt. Andrew.”

Bella is reportedly doing fine. Her owners plan to take her to an eye specialist soon since they describe her behavior as frightening. “It’s such a totally bizarre behavior. The dog is ten years old; never jumped off the boat like that.”