The volunteer crew of Sligo RNLI responded to reports of a dog who had become stranded on a sandbank at Culleenamore near Strandhill on Sunday.
The dog (Buddy) had been out walking with his owner at the beach when he decided to go for a swim.
Due to the low tide, he swam as far as the sandbank but then was unable to return to his owner on the beach.
Due to the low tide and narrowing channels, extreme caution had to be taken by the lifeboat crew to negotiate their passage to get close to the dog.
His owner tried continuously to call Buddy back to shore but the dog was unable to do so.
After a couple of hours and with the tide beginning to rise, contact was made with the shore and the owner’s son borrowed a kayak and lifejacket and paddled out to the scene where he was able to coax the dog into the lifeboat.
The lifeboat crew then returned to the station at 2.25pm with Buddy, his owner’s son and kayak all safely onboard.
The RNLI are reminding the public that if their pet goes into the water, please do not enter the water after them, call 112/999 and ask for the Coast Guard as ask for help.
