A large, rare dog bolted from a cargo holding area at La Guardia Airport yesterday, sending workers on a wild chase along runways and taxiways before it leaped into Flushing Bay and was rescued.

The 98-pound Perro de Presa Canario ate through a carrying case in the cargo hold of Continental Flight 232, which had just arrived from Houston at 2 p.m., said NYPD Detective Glenn Koch.

When workers opened the cargo door, the dog jumped.

After nearly half an hour of eluding its pursuers, the dog splashed down in the bay. He was lassoed by Harbor Patrol officers 40 minutes later.

Koch said the dog was “tired” and “didn’t give us much of a fight when we dragged him out of the water” and onto a boat.

Once on board, he was “feisty at first, but he calmed down,” said NYPD harbor cop Jeff Rosenvold, who had reeled in the dog.