Dog hailed a hero after rescuing holidaymaker's leg from the sea

A one-and-a-half-year-old wire-haired German pointer named Gertie has been hailed a hero after rescuing a holidaymaker’s prosthetic leg from the sea.

Gertie was being walked by owner, local artist John Dooner from Hodgeston, at Freshwater East beach in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, when they were approached by a distressed elderly man.



He explained that a freak wave had taken one of his wife’s prosthetic legs which was already past the surf and disappearing with the ebbing tide. Fortunately, John knew what to do. He released Gertie and threw a stone towards the vanishing limb. Gertie knows a game of retrieve when she sees one.

Seeing the splash, she leapt into the surf and swam to the only thing still floating - the prosthetic leg, much to the delight of the visitors. The man explained that his German wife had served in the army and was very fond of Pembrokeshire having been posted there at Castlemartin. They had been most distressed about the potential loss of the prosthesis and were very pleased to get it back.