Welsh surfer rescues dog owner from the sea
A man who tried to rescue his dog from the sea in Port Talbot himself had to be rescued after he struggled in the waves. Luckily for the dog owner, a surfer happened to be nearby and rescued the man.
The dog made it safely ashore under his own steam.
The dog jumped off the pier, into the sea, when he escaped from his owner’s grasp, prompting the dog owner, from Maesteg, to jump in after him. The coastguard was scrambled, and emergency services also attended the scene, but it was a local surfer who pulled the man to safety.
The RNLI, coastguard and an RAF helicopter were all dispatched because of a man who jumped into the sea after his dog, when the dog was able to save himself.
Steve Jones, the watch manager with the coastguard, said that dog owners shouldn’t put themselves in danger for their dogs.
Fortunately this incident had a good outcome.
The man was rescued by the surfer within just a few minutes of the 999 calls. He was, however, very lucky that so many people happened to be in the vicinity and that the surfer was close by.
Please don’t jump into the water after your dog or attempt to climb down cliffs if they get stuck. Dogs are very resilient and often make their own way into shore or back up cliffs.
If you really do feel that your dog can’t make it back, don’t risk your own life.
Call 999 and ask for the coastguard. People have lost their lives rescuing dogs: don’t lose yours.
Jumping into the sea from a high place is dangerous, whether it is from a pier or from rocks.
You do not know what is below the surface. What was deep water in the morning could be a shallow puddle by lunchtime and there could be jagged rocks and other objects lurking below the water.
Although the temptation to jump in after your dog may be great, remember that on the whole, dogs are much better swimmers than you or I, and generally won’t need your help to make it ashore.
For example, this dog managed to get ashore, even when dragging a shark through the sea. There aren’t many humans who could do that.
He did not jump in to save his dog, a freak wave took them off the jetty. By the time he was hauled aboard the surfers board he could see his dog on the beach shaking himself down and cocking his leg up to relieve himself.