Dog rescued at Sea Palling
She'd swum out to sea following seals
The RNLI lifeguard team at Sea Palling rescued Rosa the Golden Retriever after she swam out to sea to get a closer look at the local population of seals.
At around 3:30pm on Saturday 3 July, RNLI lifeguards at Sea Palling were alerted by a member of the public about a dog in danger. Rosa, a Golden Retriever, began swimming further out to sea to follow a group of seals.
Although witnesses had already called 999 to alert the Coastguard of the dog's increasingly dangerous situation, the RNLI team at Sea Palling entered the water to rescue the dog immediately. Lifeguard Tom Owen stayed on the beach to continue monitoring the lifeguarded area.
Two lifeguards, Rebecca Cooper and Greta Balfour, paddled out to Rosa on rescue boards. With Rosa's attention focused entirely on the seals, the team of two had to manoeuvre their rescue boards to guide the determined dog back to shore. The lifeguards wanted to avoid putting Rosa on the rescue board so to not distress her further, but also had to judge her state in case she was tired. They found
Rosa still full of energy and encouraged her to swim alongside the rescue boards back to shore.
Once ashore, the Sea Palling RNLI team ensured that the dog had not taken in too much water and then reunited Rosa with her owner.
Lifeguard Rebecca Cooper congratulated Rosa's owner for staying calm and not entering the water.
She said:
"Although Rosa was stuck out at sea, it was great that her owner stayed calm and dialled 999 for the Coastguard.
"The RNLI rescue animals to ensure that the public don't put themselves in danger by trying to do so. Rosa's owner's level-headedness meant that we could bring her dog back safely.'
If your pet goes into the water or gets stuck in mud, don't go after it. Move to a place you can get to safely and call its name. If you think your pet is in danger, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.