Gull-chasing spaniel swept half a mile out by strong tide
WHEN Molly the springer r spaniel rushed into the sea a chasing a seagull, Terry Dodd watched with dread as the tide swept her out of sight.
Convinced she had drowned, Mr r Dodd broke down in tears.
But as he stood helplessly on the e beach, his six-year- old dog was s half a mile out still battling against t the waves.
After deciding against risking a rescue himself 77-year- old Mr Dodd rang 999 – and within minutes, a lifeboat had been launched off Rhyl beach in North Wales.
A video showed the boat pulling g up to a cold and tired Molly, who had been swimming for 25 minutes. One crew member could be heard saying: ‘Hello buddy, come here, you’re not supposed to be this far out,’ before returning her safely to shore.
Yesterday, Mr Dodd, of Chester, said: ‘I was stood knee deep in the water just shouting and shouting, but her ears were down and she
SEA RESCUE 2
was ignoring me. I just thought she had drowned. I was crying.’
Mr Dodd, a roofing contractor, said the adventurous Molly had chased a flock of seagulls on their Monday morning walk and went into the sea in pursuit of an injured bird. ‘She loves retrieving birds and has done it before. It’s what springers do,’ he said. ‘She’s not a daft dog, she’s very intelligent, but life is definitely a roller coaster with her around.’
When Molly got back to shore, she was all wags and licks.
‘ She was really milking the attention,’ Mr Dodd said. ‘She got out the boat and was kissing and licking my neck, she was absolutely unfazed by it all.’ He said he would be making a donation to the RNLI for saving her.