Sligo Bay RNLI volunteer crew bring Buddy home

14 August 2023

Sligo Bay RNLI volunteer crew bring Buddy home

Sligo Bay RNLI's volunteer crew were requested to launch by the Coast Guard at 11.21am to reports of a dog who had become stranded on a sandbank at Culleenamore near Strandhill (Sunday 13 August) in Ballisodare Bay.

Buddy had been out walking with his owner at the beach when he decided to go for a swim. Due to the low tide he swan as far as the sandbank but then was unable to return to his owner on the beach. His owner tried continuously to call Buddy back to shore but the dog was unable to do so. Thankfully the owner called 112 and asked for the Coast Guard rather than attempting a rescue himself.

The volunteer crew aboard the Sheila and Dennis Tongue launched at 11.31am and were on the scene by 11.59am. Due to the low tide and narrowing channels, extreme caution had to be taken by the lifeboat crew to negotiate their passage to get close to the dog. The volunteer crew train with the navigation equipment onboard, and they manage to get close enough for one crew member to get onto the sandbank and try to coax the dog onto the lifeboat but to no avail as Buddy was very nervous. After a couple of hours and with the tide beginning to rise another solution was necessary to bring the dog to safety. Contact was made with the shore and the owner’s son borrowed a kayak and lifejacket and paddled out to the scene where he was able to coax Buddy into the lifeboat. The lifeboat crew then returned to the station at 2.25pm with Buddy, his owner’s son and kayak all safely onboard.

Buddy was meet with a big bowl of water and he was very happy to be back on dry land again.

Speaking after the rescue, volunteer crew member said “As a dog owner, my skills were tested to their limits today. Not as straight forward as we all thought it would be, but it was great to eventually reunite Buddy with this owner.”

Remember if your pet goes into the water, please do not enter the water after them, call 112/999 and ask for the Coast Guard as ask for help.

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