On Saturday morning April 7 Rye Harbour volunteer lifeboat crew responded to a UK Coastguard request to help a distressed dog stuck in the mud on the banks of the River Rother.
Due to lack of water the Lifeboat was taken down the bank of the Rother on its trailer to assist the UK Coastguards in saving a dog that had got stuck in the mud. The owner of the animal had phoned 999 and was put through to the Coastguard who told him to stay calm, that help was on its way and that he was not to enter the water himself.
This is a key message as we approach better weather and more people are walking dogs down by the river and the beach. If your dog gets into trouble call for help, wait calmly and DO NOT ENTER THE WATER.
The RNLI volunteers teamed up with the UK Coastguard and the dog was safely rescued and reunited with its worried owners. The dog-owner said, ‘The RNLI and Coastguards were wonderful and we can’t thank them enough. The relief is immense.’
As soon as the boat was released by the UK Coastguard a second call came in and they were re-tasked to save another dog also caught in the mud but further down the river. This rescue was also successful and the gratitude of the owners to the RNLI Rye Harbour volunteers and UK Coastguards was palpable.
Senior crew member on the shout, Tony Peters, said, ‘Now that we are seeing the first warm weather of the year we are experiencing increased calls to rescue dogs. We would always advise any dog walker in this area to keep dogs on leads and under no circumstance attempt to rescue the dogs themselves.”
Photos: kt Bruce
Another perfect job by the RNLI! Well done.