RNLI Charles Lidbury goes to the rescue of Blue the spaniel!
The RNLI Aith lifeboat Charles Lidbury was called out at approximately 8:22pm on 30 June 2018, to go to the aid of a cocker spaniel stuck down some cliffs.
The spaniel, which was called Blue, was stuck down cliffs just south of the Muckle Roe lighthouse, in the north of Shetland.
Once the volunteer crew arrived at the scene, the Y class lifeboat was launched, and with some help from the dog owners, the crew managed to locate the dog at the bottom of the cliffs.
The Y class lifeboat approached the dog, and crew member Graham Johnston then reached over and recovered Blue into the lifeboat. They then headed to a nearby beach at Muckle Roe, where his owners, and the Hillswick Coastguard team were waiting to get Blue onto dry land.
Volunteer crew member Nick McCaffrey said: ‘the dog was lovely and just wanted to rest’.
Blue seemed none the worse for his mishap, and after reuniting him with his owners, the crew then returned to RNLI Aith Lifeboat Station.
In 2017, there were a total of 8,436 lifeboat launches, and on average 22 people were aided each day.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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