Would you rescue your dog if it was swept out to sea? news article

[Gretchen]

Tough question, generally Molly does not like to swim, but once when my daughter was 2-3 yrs old, a rogue wave came up, got us really wet during the winter and we were cold, but other than that, we were OK.

Here's an article about dogs being swept out into the ocean and the fatal results of their owners trying to save them.

Recent deaths raise awareness about dog owners trying to rescue pets at beaches - Santa Cruz Sentinel

[Syaoransbear]

Only if I had a life jacket. I'm really bad at swimming, I'd probably drown rescuing my dog out of the deep end of a pool :/.

[huntergreen]

of course i would try, i also swim very well.

[Anitsisqua]

Without a moment's hesitation....I also grew up on the coast.

[wolfy dog]

No, I won't put my life in danger.

[martemchik]

I used to be a lifeguard, pretty good swimmer, I'd be in there without a moment's hesitation.

[Gretchen]

Since I'm not the best swimmer, especially in cold water where I live, I think I'd call 911 and hope a sympathetic Coast Guard or other emergency services would respond.

[Gharrissc]

I would try to save them,but for argument's sake I always try to be prepared when I am near water ,even though my husband and I both are strong swimmers. I think a lot of people don't realize that your dog doesn't have to be awfully far in the water to be swept out.

[Wild Wolf]

Absolutely I would, without hesitation. It helps that I am a good swimmer too, though!

[RowdyDogs]

I'm not sure, honestly. I once did a very stupid thing to save my dog who wasn't even in immediate danger. He'd fallen onto a ledge and gotten stuck while we were hiking, and I did a very dangerous climb down--and more dangerous climb back up with him on my shoulders--to get him rather than the smarter course of sending my hiking buddy back to get ropes and harnesses from our vehicle. It would have taken maybe 5 hours, which would have been unpleasant but hardly dangerous, and the dog wasn't panicked or anything. I'm sure he would have waited there as long as I was up on the trail to keep him calm.

So, I've proven that I can be a bit of an idiot. I knew how dangerous it was when we did it even. Looking back, there was no reason not to send my buddy back and just wait a bit. No one was hurt, we had plenty of water, life was fine...I was just worried he'd get scared and try to get off the ledge and fall, despite the fact that he showed no indication of feeling that way.

Since then, I've taken NOLS courses and gotten involved with SAR, and the biggest thing emphasized there is that you have to ensure your own safety first before trying to rescue anyone else. Otherwise, all that's likely to happen is either 2 people die, or the rescue mission gets that much more complicated when the reinforcements arrive and have to try to save you both. I've also gotten older and (hopefully) smarter since then.

So, I guess my answer is that I pray I'm never in a situation to find out. Maybe a cop-out, but it's true. I spend a lot of time thinking about how to handle emergency situations just because of the SAR teams I'm on, but all that does is reinforce how awful it is to find yourself or a loved one in that kind of situation.

edit: I have actually dove in to save a dog who was struggling (and one that wasn't even mine...but it was a situation I was totally confident in, so I didn't feel like it counts...the dog was caught in a current, but it wasn't a strong one), but I'm also a strong swimmer and was wearing a lifejacket. I sort of extrapolated to dangerous situations in general, in case that wasn't clear.

Water safety is really big. I won't let my dogs in natural bodies of water without lifejackets, even though none of them actually even like to swim. LOL But that makes it more important to me. In fact, one of mine did nearly drown when his previous owners tossed him off their boat in the middle of a reservoir because "all dogs know how to swim." The friend who arranged his move into my household (their adult daughter) was luckily with the family that day and was swimming near the boat, and was able to rescue him.

So yeah, lifejackets can be bought for less than $100 and to me it is money well-spent. If I had a water dog who I had worked with extensively in the water I would probably not be so religious about it (after all, I don't always wear a lifejacket when I swim), but for the average pet owner whose dog maybe doesn't get so much practice, it just seems like good sense to me.