Chiswick lifeboat crew rescue chihuahua and her owner after fall into the mud
While many of Chiswick RNLI lifeboat crew were assembling for the remembrance day ceremony at Chiswick War Memorial on Sunday 11 November 1918, the duty crew were launched at 10.15am to a report of a woman and her dog in difficulties on the foreshore in Hammersmith.
After a 5m fall onto the muddy foreshore the small dog’s owner had clambered down and extricated her from the mud but was unable to get back up the river wall.
When the lifeboat arrived on scene the owner had managed to get to her dog. Both were very muddy and couldn’t get back up the vertical ladder on the river wall. The crew took them on board the lifeboat and checked that they hadn’t entered the water or suffered any injuries. They were then taken to a nearby pier.
Chiswick RNLI helmsman Glen Monroe commented ‘This was the eighth dog our crew has helped this year. It was fortunate that the chihuahua fell into soft mud and wasn’t injured. As in many other incidents, evacuating casualties into the lifeboat was the only safe option. With a launch target of 90 seconds and the speed of the E Class lifeboat we can reach any incident in a few minutes.’
Chiswick RNLI lifeboat station is the second busiest in the UK and Ireland. Since The RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames started in 2002, Chiswick Lifeboat has attended over 3,500 incidents and rescued over 1,730 people. The RNLI is entirely funded by public donations.
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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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