Dog missing for more than four days rescued by lifeboat a mile out at sea after chasing a seagull

A dog which had been missing for than four days was rescued by lifeboat after being swept into the sea. The lifeboat was called into action at around 9.30am on Thursday, after members of the public reported seeing a dog chase a seagull into the water at Hastings, East Sussex. The crew, assisted by the Coastguard, quickly found Storm, a seven-year-old long-haired German Shepherd, who had been missing since Sunday.



The waterlogged dog was pulled from the sea and reunited with his happy owner at the lifeboat station, before going to the vet for a check-up. Storm’s owner said that he couldn’t thank the UK Coastguard or the RNLI enough. He said, “I have been out looking for Storm since he went missing on Sunday and last night I was out until midnight searching for him. When I got the call that he was on the beach, I was over the moon. But when I got down to the beach he’d already swum out to sea. I was just frantic to get him back.

“The Coastguard reassured me the whole time, talking me through the rescue process and keeping me updated on how they were conducting the search. I just can’t thank them all enough for bringing him safely home.” Coastguard Nick Jury said, “This is a very happy ending for Storm. The owners had put up posters informing people that he was missing and he was spotted on the beach by a member of the public. By chance, the dog’s owner was also in the area searching for him.



“I had spotted the dog in the water and was able to guide the RNLI Hastings Inshore Lifeboat to Storm, by which time he was about one mile out to sea. He was completely exhausted when the RNLI reached him and he was rescued just in time. Happily, Storm has been very fortunate to survive quite a swim out to sea. In this instance we had received a 999 call and a member of the public had come into the office at Hastings to alert us. His owners and the members of the public did exactly the right thing by calling the UK Coastguard and not attempting to rescue him themselves – which is the best advice we offer dog owners. We want people to enjoy the coast and this simple measure could save lives.”