Dog owner grateful after Dart RNLI rescue
A Devon dog owner has paid tribute to Dart RNLI volunteers after she was rescued with her pet after the pair were stranded on a river bank.
Felicity Bellamy was walking with three-year-old Lucca in woods near Old Mill Creek on October 26 when the working Cocker Spaniel left the path and scrambled down to the river shore some 20 feet below.
Felicity, from Blackawton, who knows the woods well after walking in the area for the last ten years, soon realised something was wrong.
‘I called out to Lucca and heard him below,’ she said. ‘I guessed he must have fallen down to the shoreline on the beach and couldn’t get back up. It was quite a steep drop.
‘I thought if I could get down to his level I would be able to help him back up the bank, so I slid down on the roots and picked him up.
‘I soon realised there was no way I was going to be able to get back up the bank. I walked along the shoreline but it was sheer rock.
‘I got as far as the boundary with the Naval College and saw the no entry sign and “live explosives” and that’s when I realised I needed help.’
Felicity, a keen RNLI supporter, fund raiser and donation collector since childhood, knew the correct procedure and called the Coastguard.
They alerted the Dart lifeboat station and the Atlantic B Class and then the D Class, helmed by Tatty Pettigrew and crewed by Nigel Viles and Sam Smale, were tasked to help.
‘It was all pretty quick,’ added Felicity. ‘Thank God the tide was not coming in or it could have been far worse. I didn’t want to risk climbing the bank and breaking my leg or something so I called for help.
‘The RNLI crew were so efficient and the helm was very good at putting me at my ease. She went the extra mile and it was very reassuring. They were all very kind and not critical.
‘Lucca had a lovely time waiting for the boat digging on the beach and getting covered in mud. He thought the whole thing was planned for him.
‘They out us on the boat and he loved the ride back to Dartmouth where he was given a treat and I had a cup of tea.’
Helm Tatty said: ‘Felicity did the right thing. There is nothing to be gained by taking risks and risking injury.
‘As always, we were very happy to attend and help Felicity and Lucca from a situation which could have become more difficult.’
Felicity said she was so grateful she would be dropping into the Dartmouth RNLI Visitor Centre to make a donation to the charity organisation.
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For more information please contact Dominic Hart, Dart RNLI Press Officer, on 07767 764 144 or the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789 or at [email protected].
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Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.
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