Drowning dog saved at sea by lifeboat crew

By Elizabeth Hunter

This is the moment a scared rescue dog was saved from drowning at sea by a lifeboat crew.

The dog, named Seren, escaped from her owner's car trunk on Feb. 1 after a loud noise had her "spooked."

Owners Andrea and Richard, who had adopted the 3-year-old golden retriever just five weeks ago, saw Seren sprint away from them towards the Newton Beach shoreline in Wales.

"‘I’ve rescued many dogs in my time, but Seren is definitely the most traumatized," said owner Andrea.

"She had just been getting comfortable with her regular beach walks.

"On Saturday we were planning to go out with her and had carefully placed her in the car boot when she seemed calm.

"As we clicked the key to close the car boot, we think the noise must have spooked her because she leaped out immediately, running across the dunes and down onto the beach."

They chased after their beloved dog, but were unable to catch up. Another dog walker attempted to grab hold of Seren, but she became frightened and ran into the sea.

The dog walker shouted to Angela, urging her to call the Coastguard, as Seren swam further out to sea.

"Admittedly I don’t always carry my mobile phone on me, but I was so grateful it was in my pocket and I could make that 999 call," said Andrea.

"The person on the phone was brilliant at keeping me calm, but I was losing faith as we could no longer see Seren she’d swum so far out and I feared the worst.’

HM Coastguard had requested Porthcawl RNLI to launch their Atlantic 85 lifeboat Rose of the Shires and the volunteer crew made best speed to Newton Bay.

Amazingly the lifeboat crew arrived on the scene and instantly located Seren near Newton Point around 300m from the shore.

Footage recorded by the RNLI shows the hard-working lifeboat crew speeding towards the pup, and lifting the soaking and exhausted retriever into the boat - and comforting her on their way back to shore.

She was exhausted and was being swept further and further out to sea by the tidal current.

Porthcawl RNLI Helm Chris Missen said: "Thankfully we spotted Seren as soon as we came around Newton Point and we were able to recover her onboard the lifeboat.

"She was a little shaken but otherwise unharmed.

"Andrea did the right thing by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard. We were delighted to be able to rescue Seren and reunite her with Andrea and family.

"A heart-warming ending for our first rescue of the year.

‘When it comes to dogs in the water our safety advice is to never enter the water after your dog, as you could end up in difficulty yourself.

"Instead dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard."

Seren has now been reunited with her owners - who could not be more grateful to the lifeboat crew.

"I honestly can’t thank the volunteer RNLI crew enough for saving Seren," said Andrea.

"They turned a nightmare into a dream. It was like something out of a movie seeing the crew member in their kit carrying Seren from the lifeboat through the shallows.

"I also want to thank the fellow dog walker Josh, for all his help and quick thinking to make the 999 call to the Coastguard - and to everyone else on the beach who helped us that day.

"I now really understand the importance of having a means of calling for help and if my story can help others I want to get the message out there."