An Atlantic City police officer rescued an injured stray dog earlier this month by swimming into a bay channel after the animal fled from authorities, officials said.

Police responded to the city’s Venice Park neighborhood around 12:51 p.m. Oct. 15 after the dog was seen abandoned in a vacant lot at Murray and West Riverside avenues, according to an incident report.

An animal control officer at the scene secured a bite pole around the dog, but the animal fled through the neighborhood after the officer lost their grip, police said.

A short time later, the dog was cornered in another lot near the bay and jumped into the water near a dock.

Officer Matt Schmidt, one of the first to respond, summoned a rescue boat to try to catch the dog, which had already swum several yards from shore.

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