Missing dog found 12 hours later having early morning swim in the sea

Coastguards have reunited a dog with its owner after it was spotted in the sea more than 12 hours after it went missing.

Amanda Wileman reported Staffordshire bull terrier cross-breed Harry missing from her home in Babbacombe, Devon, at 6:00pm on Monday. Harry was spotted in the sea close to the town's pier at 7:30am on Tuesday.



How Harry ended up in the water is a mystery, but he was spotted by a woman, who called Brixham Coastguards. But before he could be rescued, Harry managed to swim back to the shore where he was later reunited with Ms Wileman. The Torbay Coastguards rescue team was alerted in case the woman went into the water to try to rescue the dog.

Andy Huber, watch manager at Brixham Coastguards, said: "People should not attempt to rescue a dog which is being swept out to sea. This is because you are likely to get into difficulty yourself. We find that many dogs return to shore alive, but sometimes people don't. In this case there is a happy ending, and we're pleased we've been able to reunite Harry with his relieved owner."