This is the incredible moment a dog was rescued after being found swimming in the Gulf of Thailand, 135 miles from the coast.

Workers on an oil rig noticed the little dog’s head poking above the waves as it swam across the ocean last Friday.

They called to the exhausted animal, which is between three and five years old, and she swam towards them, taking shelter between the rusty metal bars of the platform.

A dog has been rescued after being found swimming in the Gulf of Thailand, 135 miles from the coast. The exhausted female was hoisted to safety by workers using a rope as she lay wet.

The brown Aspin hides among the гᴜѕtу bars of the oil rig after being found swimming 135 miles off the coast of Thailand

The dog lies on the metal grates of the platform with the rope still tied around its body.

Oil rig workers in the Gulf of Thailand pet the dog after saving her, but mystery surrounds how she got there.

The oil rig worker, Khon Vitisak, who rescued the dog, offers her a bucket of water, which she gladly accepts.

The dog was rescued in the Gulf of Thailand, which is south of the country and west of Cambodia and Vietnam.

Workers then lowered a rope to the brown Aspin dog and pulled him up safely.

He remained on the drilling platform for two nights while a special cage was welded and staff gave him food and water.

The dog was finally lifted by a crane onto another oil tanker passing through the area yesterday. He was taken to vets in Songkhla, southern Thailand, today.

Khon Vitisak, an oil rig worker who saved the animal, said he doesn’t know how it got into the ocean, but would like to adopt it if no owner turns up.

She looks from the deck of the oil platform over the vast sea of the Gulf of Thailand in which she was found swimming.

The team aboard the oil rig poses with the dog they saved and has put a lei of flowers around its neck.

The Aspin looks up as it pitches after the marathon swim across the choppy ocean.

One of the oil rig workers comforts the dog by stroking its paw as it rests on the concrete floor.

The dog, who was not given a name, looks at his new temporary home in a cage on the oil rig.

The tired dog appears relaxed as he lies next to his makeshift cage on the drilling platform.

He said: “We found her trying to swim towards our platform, which is about 135 miles offshore. Fortunately, the sea was quite calm because the wind was calm.

“We only saw its little head, but if the waves were bigger, we probably wouldn’t have even noticed it.

“After he got to the bars under the platform, he wasn’t crying or barking at all. We looked for a way to help her and in the end we decided to use the rope to tie her around her body and lift her up.

“When we first brought her on board, she was depressed and tired after being in the water for a long time. He had lost water from his body.

“When we gave him water and minerals, his symptoms improved. “He started to sit up and walk normally.”

The oil rig workers crouch down with the puppy. The animal had lost a lot of body water, but the men gave it vitamins and minerals and its health improved.

She stayed on the drilling platform for two nights while a special cage was welded.

The puppy was lifted by a crane onto an oil tanker passing through the area yesterday.

The dog wears a flower collar and smiles at the camera from the back of a car as it returns to dry land.

Volunteers from the animal charity, who are now caring for the dog, do not know if it has an owner or if it was a stray.

You may have swum from shore or gotten on a boat and then jumped out.

Once she reached the platform, workers cared for the dog until they radioed for help and requested that an oil tanker returning to the mainland stop to pick her up.

Today she was sent to animal charity Watchdog Thailand, who took her to be checked by vets.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “The boat arrived at 10am and the dog was in good spirits. We took him to the vet to get him checked out and he was found to be healthy.

“Everyone involved in coordinating the rescue did a brilliant job.”

The dog is now named Boonrod, which in Thai means ‘making a spiritual donation for good luck in the future’.

Mr Vitisak said: “We checked Boonrod again tonight and he is fine. Has a lot of energy.

“We still don’t know how he was in the water 220 km from the coast. “It’s a miracle we found her.”

He added: “I hope to adopt her as a pet. I hope to spend many happy years with her.”