Lost pooch swept out to sea rescued off California coast after dramatic search, use of proven technology
A pup got lucky last weekend when she was rescued off the California coast after getting swept out to sea.
The black Labrador retriever-mix named Sadie, initially escaped from the home where her owners were staying in San Diego during a Sunday football game, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said.
The pair, Alexis Barcellos and Brandon Valdez, tracked Sadie using the AirTag on her collar and set out to the coast to find her, officials said.
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Lifeguards in Ocean Beach, nearly two miles away, alerted a lifeguard tower about a dog that had been swept out into the rip current near a jetty.
Lifeguard units and a U.S. Coast Guard boat were dispatched to find the pup.
“At that point, I kind of just said, ‘Please let us find this dog,’” San Diego Fire Department Lifeguard Jack Alldredge told The Associated Press.
The initial search yielded no sightings and lifeguards began making their way back to land.
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“Until a miracle happened,” the Fire Department said in a social media post. “Jet Ski 2 spotted the dog about a half-mile offshore near South Mission Beach.”
“We got closer and closer, and then we realized it was her and we were pretty excited,” Alldredge said.
Sadie was found and transferred to a surf boat that brought her to shore, where she was reunited with her owners, officials said.
In a video message, Sadie’s owners said they would be forever grateful for her rescue. Barcellos recalled the moment when she heard a call on the radio that they had found the dog.
“And we kind of just held our breath, and they were like, and the dog is alive,” she said. “And we kind of just started crying right away.”
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