Nsw Man Drowns Trying To Rescue Dog

[Maxiewolf]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8268302/man-drowns-on-nsw-mid-north-coast

A man has drowned trying to rescue his dog from the sea off NSW's mid-north coast.

The dog got caught in a rip as it played near the entrance to Lake Cathie, south of Port Macquarie, about 1.30pm (AEST) on Saturday.

Its 42-year-old owner, from Bellbird in NSW's Hunter region, plunged into the sea when he realised his pet was in trouble, but soon got into difficulties himself.

A surfer managed to drag the man to shore where an off-duty Port Macquarie police officer tried in vain to revive him.

Paramedics declared him dead at the scene.

His dog is believed to have survived.

Very tragic,

[Little Gifts]

And hands up who else here would probably do the same thing for their beloved dog?

Me x 2 dogs

[GeckoTree]

Not me, I think I posted in a thread a couple years back when a woman drowned in similar situation why Though if i remember correctly it was a swollen river. Dogs usually survive undertow and rip currents just fine, but people don't unless they are very good swimmers and know how to traverse one.

Knee jerk emotion can rule out over a risk management breather though I understand that.

I feel sorry for the guys family, and I hope he wasnt part of the dol family that would be very sad to know.

[GeckoTree]

how to traverse one, don't fight against them.

[fifi]

So sad, I did this without thinking when I was a young teen, to save one of my mum's Great Danes, the dog panicked of course & pulled me under raking my back, and my father had to jump in fully dressed & save us both.

And knowing me, I'd probably do it again in the moment.

fifi

[Mr Tiddles]

My youngest Aussie Terrier has a tendency to jump into water and this time he jumped off an embankment where he could not climb back up.

I was walking along and turned back and saw him struggling ( he is a little weighty) and rushed to his aid. He was pulled up all ok but I would have jumped in without question to save him.

[HazyWal]

Thank you for posting this.When I read this this morning in the Sydney Telegraph it told of the poor man dying but said nothing about the dog.So at least his actions wern't in vain.

[efowler]

How tragic! I grew up in this area too and have been caught in rips before on the same beach.

[Clyde]

I'm terrified of the ocean. That poor man

Thanks for the pic too GT, always good to know!!

[Little Gifts]

Having spent most of my childhood on the unpatrolled beaches of Wollongong (patrolling wasn't a thing back then) and my teens on the unpatrolled beaches of the Gold Coast (only the tourist sections were patrolled back when I was a teen) we were taught about rips and how to deal with other sea dangers. I know it is a risk to jump in and try to restrain a panicking dog but my instinct would still be to try and calm them down, keep their head above water and ride the rip back with them to shore. I would of course do the same for a stranger in the absence of a proper surf lifesaver or someone on a board, however I would not expect anyone to risk their lives for my dog on my behalf.