A dog found swimming more than 220 kilometers off the coast of Thailand has been returned safely to land.

Late last week, workers on an oil rig(钻井平台) noticed the animal, all alone, in the water. It began swimming toward the side of the rig. The dog was able to get itself onto a solid area.

He appeared cold, tired and fearful. The workers lowered a rope and secured it around the dog. Then, they worked together to pull the animal up to safety.

The crew that found the dog quickly gave their new friend a name: Boonrod. The name means something similar to ―one who survives in a disaster in the Thai language.

One of those workers was Vitisak Payalaw. He has been providing updates on Boonrod on his Facebook page. He said it was lucky that the crew noticed the dog in the water. If there had been waves, he said, the animal would not have been seen.

No one knows how Boonrod ended up all alone at sea, or how long he had been out there. But Vitisak and others have guessed the animal might have fallen off a fishing boat.

On Monday, Boonrod arrived on dry land. A team of animal doctors was waiting for him in the southern Thai province of Songkhla. Workers at the Songkhla port also welcomed the dog with neck rubs and a special ―welcome necklace made of yellow flowers. Many people took pictures with Boonrod.

Vitisak wrote on Facebook, ―Today (April 15), a ship transporting the dog arrived onshore at around 10.am. His overall condition has improved. He is getting stronger and can smile.

The dog is now in the care of an animal doctor in Songkhla. The animal protection group Watchdog Thailand said he is in good condition and getting stronger. On Tuesday, the group published pictures of Boonrod getting washed — and getting plenty of love and attention.

Vitisak says that if no one claims Boonrod as their pet, he will take him with him to his home in northeast Thailand.

There was a boy and his family was very rich. One day his father took him on a trip to a place. He wanted to show his son how poor people were there. They spent several days on a farm. There were many poor families living on the farm.

On their way home, the father asked the son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad,” the son answered. “Did you notice how poor people were there?” asked his father. “Oh, yes,” said the son. “So, tell me,” said his father. The son said, “Well, we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool in our garden, while they have a river that has no end. We have expensive lanterns, but they have stars above their heads at night. We have only a small piece of land to live on ,while they have the endless fields. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have high walls around our houses to protect us, but they don’t need walls, because their friends will protect them.”

The father had nothing to say. Then the boy added, “Thank you, Dad, for letting me see how poor we are.”

Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father’s wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loved experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.

“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer.” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”

“He won’t find out.” Mark said, “I’ll just have a quick look and shut it down.”

Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.

“It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model, ” his father had explained, “so don’t touch it under any circumstances. ” But his warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colors, shifting and changing and then two big white words appeared in the center of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER. ”

“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead. ” A new message appeared on the screen:

“ENTER NAMES

VOYAGER 1: …

VOYAGER 2: …”

Mark’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.

“INPUT ACCEPTED. START TRANSPORT PROGRAM. AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED.”

The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.

“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark, ” Jason yelled, reaching for the power switch. He was really frightened.

But his hand never reached the switch. A single beam of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow, until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed.

“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL. DESTINATION: MARS. RETRIEVE DATE: 2035. ”