St Bees RNLI in midnight dog rescue
Just before midnight on Saturday (15 August), the volunteers at St Bees RNLI were requested to launch to reports of a dog struggling in Whitehaven Harbour.
At 11.54pm, St Bees RNLI volunteers were paged by Belfast Coastguard. A small dog had fallen into the outer harbour at Whitehaven and was unable to make their own way to safety.
As there was a risk of a member of the public going in after the dog, the lifeboat launched and quickly made its way to Whitehaven.
As soon as the RNLI crew arrived at the harbour, members of Whitehaven and Mayport Coastguard Rescue Teams directed the lifeboat to the frightened dog, who was now on a ledge close to the water.
An RNLI volunteer went into the water and successfully got the dog back to the lifeboat. Once onboard the lifeboat took the dog to the shore where the local Coastguard and a very relieved owner met them.
A St Bees RNLI spokesperson said: 'It was the right thing to do in this situation calling for help. If your dog gets into difficulties in the sea do not risk your life going in after it. Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard'
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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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