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

Workers on an oil rig noticed the pooch's head poking out above the ripples as she paddled through the ocean last Friday.

They called out to the exhausted animal - which is between three and five years old - and she swam towards them, taking refuge among the rusty metal bars of the rig.

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

The brown Aspin hides among the rusty 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 rig with the rope still fastened around her body

Workers from the oil rig in the Gulf of Thailand pet the dog after they saved her but mystery surrounds how she got there

Oil rig worker Khon Vitisak, who rescued the dog, offers her a bucket of water which she readily accepts

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

Workers then lowered a rope down to the brown Aspin dog and pulled her to safety.

She stayed on the drilling platform for two nights while a special cage was welded together and staff gave her food and water.

The dog was finally lifted by crane on to another oil vessel passing through the area yesterday. She was taken to vets in Songkhla, southern Thailand, today.

Oil rig worker Khon Vitisak, who saved the animal, said he does not know how she came to be in the ocean but he would like to adopt her if no owner comes forward.

She looks out from the oil rig deck over the vast Gulf of Thailand sea that she was found swimming in

The team on board the oil rig stand with the dog they saved and have put a lei of flowers around her neck

The Aspin looks up as she doses following the marathon swim through the choppy ocean

One of the oil rig workers comforts the dog by stroking her paw as she rests on a concrete floor

The dog, which was not given a name, looks at its new temporary home in a cage on the rig

The tired mutt looks relaxed as she lies next to her makeshift cage on the drilling platform

He said: 'We found her trying to swim towards our rig, which is about 135 miles from the shore. Thankfully the sea was quite still because the wind was calm.

'We just saw her small head but if the ripples were bigger, I think we probably wouldn't have noticed her at all.

'After she made it onto the bars below the rig she didn't cry or bark at all. We looked for a way to help her and in the end, decided to use the rope to tie around her body to lift her up.

'When we first took her onboard her she was depressed and tired from being in the water for a long time . She had lost her body water.

'When he gave her water and minerals her symptoms improved. She started sitting up and walking normally.'

Oil rig workers crouch with the pup. The animal had lost a lot of body water, but the men fed her vitamins and minerals and her health improved

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

The pooch was lifted by crane on to a passing oil tanker which was passing through the area yesterday

The dog wears a lei of flowers and smiles at the camera from the back of a car as it returns to the mainland

Animal charity volunteers - who are now caring for the dog - do not know if she has an owner of if she was a stray.

It is possible she swam from the shore or boarded a boat then jumped off.

Once she reached the rig, workers nursed the dog back to health while they radioed for help and requested a tanker that was returning to shore to stop by and collect her.

She was sent to the animal charity Watchdog Thailand today who took her to be checked over by vets.

A spokesman for the charity said: 'The boat arrived at 10am and the dog was in good spirits. We took her to the vets to be checked and she was found to be healthy.

'Everybody who played a part in co-coordinating the rescue has done a brilliant job.'

The dog has now been named Boonrod which in Thai means 'making a spiritual donation for good luck in the future'.

Mr Vitisak said: 'We have checked on Boonrod again this evening and she is fine.

'She has a lot of energy.

'We still don't know how she was in the water 220km from the shore. It's a miracle that we found her.'

He added: 'I hope to adopt her as a pet. I am looking forward to spending many happy years together with her.'