Dog swims 4km in pursuit of Henry the sea lion

A very determined dog had to be rescued by lifesavers 4km off-shore at Semaphore Park, south Australia, after surviving an hour in the water chasing local icon Henry the sea lion. The dog, called Westie, was walking with his owner along the beach last Thursday morning when he dashed off into the water after Henry and refused to come back. Soon the pair were lost from sight over the horizon as 300kg Henry led the dog further and further out to sea, leaving Westie’s owner, who gave his name to lifesavers as Leroy, frantic on the beach. Leroy called the police, who in turn alerted Surf Life Saving SA state duty officer John Charles, who happens to be an Esplanade resident, and he called in the Semaphore Surf Life Saving Club.

Club captain Craig Van Tenac and vice captain Matthew Cole then raced to the rescue. “We were called out at 9.45am and had the boat on the water by 10am,” Van Tenac said. “We just kept following our search pattern and ... Matthew eventually spotted him. I’d say it was 4km offshore - that dog swam forever. The dog was still chasing the sea lion,” Van Tenac said. “All up we reckon they were out there for 45-60 minutes. Most dogs will fall down after six or seven minutes of swimming, so it’s pretty amazing it stayed in for 60 minutes.”



Westie was rubbing his nose against Henry who was rolling around playfully in the water, he said. Despite the dog’s stamina, Van Tenac doubted Westie, who he thought was a kelpie, would have made it back to shore. He said the dog’s owner was much relieved to have him back safely. “He said ‘thank you, boys’ and he was definitely going to get his young daughter down to the surf club to sign up.”

Esplanade resident Val Wales said Henry was most commonly sighted at Glenelg but often ventured up the coast and lazed on the Semaphore breakwater. Mrs Wales, who watched the whole episode from her balcony, said the sea lion had the better of the dog and was “teaching him a lesson” by leading him out to sea. “I think Henry was the smarter one in this case,” she said. “They were way over the horizon.”