Dogs rush to rescue as their master is washed away by waves
Published: January 15, 2007
THE old adage about a dog being a man‘s best friend was proved to be true at the weekend when two Labradors launched a rescue operation to save their owner after he was washed out to sea.
Former provincial swimmer Stan Williams, 48, was swimming in the sea with his two dogs, Thandi and Madiba, when he was caught in a rip tide and washed out.
Instead of swimming back to shore, the two dogs swam out to sea to try and rescue Williams. “I managed to convince Madiba to swim back to shore, but Thandi swam after me, obviously trying to rescue me,” said Williams.
A large wave swept Thandi back towards shore. The two dogs became frantic as Williams was pulled further out to sea and across towards the Beacon Isle Hotel.
Williams said once the dogs were ashore he relaxed his body while treading water, allowing the strong rip currents to sweep him further out to sea.
“I knew that trying to swim against the rip currents could have exhausted my strength and reduced my chances of survival. I just kept shouting encouragement to the dogs so that they would not panic,” Williams said.
After half an hour in the sea, drifting towards Beacon Isle, Williams said he thought he would be able to swim towards shore, but the rip tides were even stronger and he was swept further out.
A bystander on the beach, alerted by Williams‘ calls for help, began swimming towards him but Williams asked his would-be rescuer to turn back when he discovered the man was not wearing flippers. Williams asked the man to swim ashore and contact the NSRI, saying that he feared the man was putting his life in danger trying to rescue him.
NSRI Plettenberg Bay station commander Ray Farnham said: “We were launching our rescue craft, having been alerted by a bystander, when two people with boogie boards and flippers paddled out to rescue Williams. Between them they managed to help Williams get back to shore safely.”
The NSRI met up with Williams as he waded out of the surf, after being in the water for more than an hour. Williams was not injured and was soon reunited with his anxious dogs.
In a separate rescue on Saturday afternoon, a Frenchman, known only as Patrick, was rescued by bystanders after getting into difficulties off Rafiki‘s Beach near Keurbooms Village.
Farnham said the NSRI reacted following reports of a drowning in progress. However, before the craft was launched, a surfer had helped him out of the water.
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