RNLI lifeguards at New Quay, Ceredigion, West Wales rescued a hunting dog that refused to come out of the water after jumping off nearby cliffs.
It is believed that the dog may have been chasing a wave buoy, which it had possibly mistaken for a bird or another animal. Lifeguard Sam Willmott recalls his role in bringing the hunting dog back in from the sea: ‘The dog had rushed down from cliffs and went after something that it had maybe thought was a bird or other animal in the water – which we think was a wave buoy – and went to grab it. However, it couldn’t get hold of it so started struggling.
‘Its owners were concerned their dog would become exhausted and drown in a panic. So I went out on a rescue board to try and help. I didn’t want to get too close to the dog at first in case it panicked further.
‘After some reassurance I managed to get closer, pat it on the head and was able to direct it back into shore.’
On the same day, really low tides at New Quay had created a rip, taking people away from the lifeguarded area. RNLI lifeguard Will West had to paddle out to rescue a young child had who had lost his body board because of the wind and then couldn’t get back through the rip to the safety of the beach.
