Chiquitica, the Cuban dog who traveled across the high seas, dies after being hit by a car

Chiquitica, the scrawny Cuban dog that survived a harrowing trip across the Florida Straits aboard a makeshift boat with 12 migrants, found death in the United States.

According to reports on WPLG Local 10 News, the pet was hit by a car last week after dashing out of her new home in Miami.

The dog made headlines from Argentina to England when the boat she was on made landfall on Miami Beach in September.

After passing through a quarantine period in which veterinarians inspected, vaccinated and registered the dog, Chiquitica was allowed to stay with the family of one of the Cuban migrants with which she traveled aboard the boat.

On Sept. 15, 11 men ranging in age from 18 to 34, a 16-year-old and the dog touched down near busy Lincoln Road around 11 a.m. in front of dozens of beachgoers to cap a six-day ordeal at sea.

The Cubans said they fled from Caibarién, in the province of Villa Clara, in the precarious metal boat about nine feet long, powered by a makeshift sail and wooden rows.

This story was originally published October 6, 2015 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Chiquitica, the Cuban dog who traveled across the high seas, dies after being hit by a car."