CARMEL, N.Y. (AP) -- Man's best friend became man's best fishing buddy this week.
Al Lotrecchiano, 72, was fishing off his small boat in Lake Gilead with his springer spaniel, Bucky, on Wednesday when the boat overturned about 400 yards off shore.
While Lotrecchiano hung on to the side of the boat, Bucky swam to shore and ran home barking, Carmel Fire Chief Darryl Johnson said.
Lotrecchiano's wife, Dimmy, heard the barking and stepped outside their Carmel lake shore home to see what was happening. She then heard her husband's screams for help.
At about the same time, a neighbor called 911 to report a man calling for help from the lake, said Carmel police Lt. Brian Karst.
Two responding officers met the neighbor and the group went along the lake shore where they encountered Dimmy Lotrecchiano, who said the dog had just returned home without her husband and that she was concerned.
Bucky wasn't entirely blameless in the episode.
Lotrecchiano, who was in the lake for about 45 minutes before being rescued, said he had just caught the largest bass in his life. As he was throwing the fish back in the water, as he always does, the dog put its paw on the side of the boat, flipping it over.
"My life flashed before me,'' Lotrecchiano recalled Thursday.
Lotrecchiano started swimming to shore but, figuring he'd never make it, quickly returned to his boat. He called for Bucky but there was no immediate answer.
"I really thought Bucky was gone, but a couple of minutes later I heard the dog barking from shore and began calling for help. Thank God the dog did what the dog did.''
Lotrecchiano was treated for hypothermia at a local hospital.
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