A pet dog was rescued after its cruel owner dumped him in a canal to drown.

The pooch was reportedly flung into the dirty water filled with lily plants by a man who drove by the bridge in a pickup truck in Uthai Thani province, Thailand on September 15.

At first, a concerned onlooker thought the driver threw a bag of garbage into the water but looked closer and realissed it was a dog that was struggling to swim.

The villager Songwit Konglim then called the animal rescuers for help as it could be dangerous to wade into the water by himself and save the dog.

Songwit said: ‘There was a pickup truck that passed by and stopped by the bridge. I heard a loud splash so I went closer to check.

‘I thought he dumped garbage into the water but I saw it was a dog. It almost drowned but managed to stay afloat so I called for help since I could not save it myself.’

When the team arrived, one of the volunteers was harnessed into a crane which was brought down into the bridge so he could pull the dog using a pole.

The pooch was saved after about half an hour before a kind local asked to adopt the animal. It was then taken home by its new owner after the rescue team did a health check on the dog.