Stranded puppy rescued from sea by paddle boarder

A pet puppy stranded at sea faced a watery grave as the rising tide covered a rock it was stuck on. But shivering Bam-Bam was saved from oblivion by a paddling adventurer near Herne Bay, Kent, on a trip to London. Water sports instructor Charlie Head has faced storms, ships and shoals of fish – but never a stranded shih tzu. The 33-year-old even filmed the rescue, capturing on camera the moment he saved the shivering pup from the rocks.



In heart-warming commentary, he says: "He's just sat out there like a little dude, wondering what to do. He definitely needs a rescue - in about 10 minutes he'll be completely covered in water." When he rounded Hampton in choppy seas on Monday morning, he spotted the soaked dog on a rock hundreds of feet out to sea. Charlie, who is making his way from Cornwall to London by paddle board to train for a 3,000-mile cross-Atlantic trip, said he was stunned to see the animal.

He said: "I was gobsmacked. I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought there is no chance it could have got there on its own and the tide was coming in. He was just sat there wondering what the hell to do. He was absolutely terrified. In about 10 minutes the rock would have been covered with water. I managed to get him onto my paddle board and bring him ashore." The obvious port of call was the Hampton Inn pub, where landlord Stuart MacKenzie took the unlikely mariner under his wing and barmaid Chelsea Clark wrapped him up warm.


YouTube link.

She said: "He was stranded on the furthest rock out. He would definitely have drowned as there was no way to get back and the tide was coming in. We were calling him Pebbles until the dog warden found out his real name. He was shaking all over. If they can't trace the owner I am going to keep him. Poor Bam-Bam." Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies said: "We are trying to contact the owner. For the meantime Bam-Bam is safe at the Lord Whisky Animal Sanctuary."