'It's A Miracle': Nassau County Police Rescue Dog Trapped For Nearly An Hour On Capsized Boat

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island man said it's a miracle his dog is alive after their boat capsized this week.

Joseph Aveni's 21-foot boat took on water and capsized in Reynolds Channel off Long Beach on Tuesday.

Nassau County Police Marine Unit Officer Joseph Nappi responded to the mayday call and helped fish Aveni and his friend out of the water. That's when he found out Aveni's 13-month-old Italian Mastiff, Amirah, was trapped under the vessel.

"We were trying to figure out a way to be able to get the dog out from underneath the boat, at one point we thought that we lost the dog," Aveni said.

Amirah was in an air pocket for 58 minutes before she was rescued.

"We had to upright the boat and then the dog popped out," Nappi said. "It was amazing."

Aveni refused medical attention, instead rushing his dog to the vet.

"It's my best friend, so she took priority over me," he said.

Both dog and owner are doing OK.

"It's a miracle that she's still alive," Aveni said. "I don't think that any one of us could last 58 minutes in the water in an air pocket. I think that any one of us would panic."

"My whole police career that was the most miracle thing I've ever seen," Nappi said. "It was unbelievable to see a dog that lived after being trapped under a boat for that long."

On Friday, Amirah was reunited with her rescuers and even received a huge rawhide bone and a pat from Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano.