Dog survives 20 minutes in car at bottom of NC canal. Here’s how the miracle happened

A resourceful dog beat incredible odds when it survived 20 minutes in a car that was flooded — and upside down — in a North Carolina canal.

The dog had “no apparent injuries” when it was eventually pulled from the Infiniti by firefighters, according to the Crawford Township Volunteer Fire Department in Currituck.

Firefighters say the call came at 12:56 a.m. Sunday, June 12, and led them to a canal in Currituck County’s unincorporated Moyock community. Moyock is about 190 miles northeast of Raleigh, near the Virginia state line.

“We arrived on scene and the convertible sports car’s driver was out. The owner’s dog was still missing,” the fire department wrote in a Facebook post.

“We heard a whimpering sound in the car. ... Our volunteers and assistance from Lantz Towing ... immediately overturned the car to gain access. Even though the car was upside down in the water for 20 minutes, we recovered the dog (alive).”

It was found “under the dash floorboard where there was an air pocket,” the department reported.

A photo shared by the department shows the terrified dog was carried out of the canal cradled under the arm of a firefighter.

The driver, a woman from Shawboro, crashed into the canal after losing control and swerving to the other side of the road, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol. She was charged with driving while intoxicated and careless and reckless driving, according to a crash report.

This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Dog survives 20 minutes in car at bottom of NC canal. Here’s how the miracle happened."