Dog that went over Biloxi bridge is rescued

DMR Marine Patrol officers on personal watercraft rescued a dog just after noon Friday, minutes after it went into the water off the Interstate 110 bridge, police said.

“The dog jumped from the back seat to the front seat and under the driver’s feet, causing the car to crash,” police Sgt. Frank McKeny said. It then jumped out the window and over the guard rail, plunging 50 to 60 feet into Back Bay .

The young dog, believed to be a Doberman-pit bull mix, appeared to be fine after its jump, McKeny said.

It was rescued within 10 minutes, said Melissa Scallan of the state Department of Marine Resources.

The dog’s owner had recently obtained it, McKeny said, but was taking it back to its previous owner.

The owner was driving a 2000 Nissan Altima southbound in the left lane. Police investigators driving by saw the crash. They said the Nissan hit the retaining wall twice and came to rest at the guard rail facing oncoming traffic.

Investigators got out and tried to walk through traffic to help, but the driver drove away. Firefighters also showed up and police called for rescue boats.

That’s when Marine Patrol officers jumped on their Yamaha Wave Runners.

The crash had flattened a tire on the Nissan, but the driver exited at Bayview Avenue, turned around and took I-110 to Rodriguez Street in D’Iberville, McKeny said.

DMR Officers Michael Fitts and Matt Kasovich are the ones who retrieved the dog.

“We were ready to launch the jet skis to go on patrol when we got the call,” Kasovich said. “That’s how we were able to get to the dog so quickly. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

Fitts, a cadet who began field work two weeks ago, said he pulled up and “the dog came right to me. I pulled him up and put him on the runner of the jet ski. He stayed right there. He was shaken up and a little scared, but he was OK.”

Biloxi animal-control officers returned the dog to the Nissan driver in D’Iberville.

It wasn’t clear if that person returned the dog to its original owner.

This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 1:11 PM with the headline "Dog that went over Biloxi bridge is rescued."