Caught in Rip Tide, Dog Paddling Black Labrador Gets Lucky
After being swept out to sea, Sadie the blak Lab drew efforts of U.S. Coast Guard and local lifeguards to generate amazing rescue story.
Even that most ardent of water dogs – the Labrador Retriever – needs a periodic break while treading water for any length of time. And in this instance, black Lab Sadie needed more than a break. She needed a full-on rescue.
You see, Sadie had decided to wander out to the beach near her San Diego home, minus her owners. Of course, being a water dog, she couldn’t resist going in for a quick ocean dip. But that’s when things took a turn, because the adventuresome pooch chose a portion of the beach where a particularly nasty rip tide had become active.
Rip tides are narrow channels of water that form when waves push up against a beach, then recede out into the ocean. It’s that retreat of water that can pull unlucky individuals back out into the ocean, and it’s strong enough to capture those simply walking along the beach or wading in shallow waters… including the wayward Sadie.
Now, she did have a spot of luck that day. You see, Sadie was spotted by area surfers who immediately alerted lifeguards when they saw the dog being swept out to sea. Soon after, those lifeguards involved the U.S. Coast Guard, who quickly deployed a boat to the area. At the same time, Sadie’s owners had noticed her missing and begun their search, using a signal from the AirTag they had affixed to her collar.
But in spite of all-hands-on-deck, there was no sign of the affable mutt who had by now disappeared into the channel alongside one of the area’s jetties.
After more than an hour of searching by both the Coast Guard and the two area lifeguards who had joined using their personal watercraft, the inevitable decision to call off the search was looming large. But just as the hunt was wrapping up, lifeguard Jack Alldredge thought he spotted something… way out in the distance.
Sadie was hanging in there, dogpaddling away despite having been swept ½ mile out into the ocean. Needless to say, the exhausted dog was happy to be picked up and given a lift back to shore, where she was reunited with her relieved owners.
As testament to the dog’s determination to survive, her family noted her scraped paws and damaged nails that resulted from her attempts to climb out of the water and onto the jetty. And after being carried about for almost a week – yes, the injuries were that painful for Sadie – she had recovered just enough to visit her local pet store, where she was allowed to pick out a treat.
Sharing space with three seriously judgy Schnoodles and 2 felines who prefers to be left alone. #LivingMyBestLife
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