Dog miraculously survives after trapped under overturned boat in Mineola

MINEOLA, Long Island (WABC) -- The old saying goes, 'if you're lucky enough to have a dog, you're lucky enough" - and then there's Joe Aveni and Amirah, his 13-month-old Italian Mastiff.

Joe was fishing with Amirah in Reynold's Channel when their 21-foot boat flipped over in the waves, leaving Amirah trapped beneath the overturned boat.

Officer Joseph Nappi and the County Police Harbor Unit heard the distress call and rescued Joe, but Joe wasn't worried about himself.

"She's my best friend," Joe said.

The boat was too heavy for any of them to lift, and the water was too rough, so they had to wait for a salvage vessel to right the boat. Of course, the hole time, Joe feared the worst.

What they did not know, is that Amirah was still alive - safe inside an air pocket that saved her life. The officers couldn't believe that Amirah had somehow survived.

The Harbor Unit officers were honored with citations, and Amirah was presented with a bone the size of a Yorkshire terrier.