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A group of fishermen rescued a missing dog they found swimming on its own in the ocean.

The men were sailing near Cedros Island, Baja California, off the coast of Mexico in the early morning when they made the unusual discovery.

The 'completely lost' dog was not wearing a collar or harness and was paddling away from the beach about a mile from shore.

Stopping the boat, the captain encouraged the dog to come closer and pulled him aboard to safety.

The exhausted animal relaxed on board and was given fresh water and food, before becoming the crew's 'unexpected fishing partner'.

A man on the boat who filmed the heartwarming rescue said: 'After fishing for half the day we came back to the dock and we're going to drop off the dog that we saved, then we're going to continue fishing.'

When they returned to land, someone at the dock recognised the pooch and reunited it with its owner.

The fishing group wrote in a post on Instagram: 'At 6:00 AM, while heading out for a day of fishing off Cedros Island, our captain spotted something in the water... It was a dog.

The 'completely lost' dog wore no collar or harness and was seen paddling away from the beach in the deep ocean among the waves about a mile from shore

Stopping the boat, the captain ushered the dog to come closer and pulled him up aboard to safety

The exhausted dog relaxed on board and was given fresh water and food, where it shortly after returned to its happy self

The men were travelling in the early morning near Cedros Island, Baja California , off the coast of Mexico when they became stunned at the unusual discovery

'He was swimming about a mile offshore, exhausted and heading away from the beach. He looked completely lost, and we have no idea how long he had been in the water.

'There was no question—we had to get him onboard. So we rescued him, gave him fresh water and food, and for the next half day he became part of our fishing crew.

'After a few hours of rest, food, water, and a little fishing adventure, he was back to being himself.'

'When we returned to the dock at Cedros Island, the story got even better: someone at the dock recognised him and knew who his owner was!

'Our unexpected fishing partner finally made it back home safely. ❤️Sometimes the best catch of the day isn’t a fish.

'Huge respect to the captain for spotting him in the water and immediately taking action. This is one Cedros Island fishing trip we’ll never forget.'