It was not the usual rescue call for Marine Rescue NSW at Batemans Bay. On Monday, radio operators were told a dog had been swept off the rocks and was in distress in the ocean.
Rod Ingamells, unit commander of the local Marine Rescue NSW team, was one of the first to get on a rescue vessel. By the time the team reached the area, the dog had swum nearly 800 metres across the bay to nearby Snapper Island.
“I thought originally it was going to be easy, but it’s a difficult little spot,” he said.
“One of our crew members who was a bit of a dog lover, she went straight into the water. But he decided to play hide and seek … and he ran around to the other side.”
The Batemans Bay team has been training since September with two new rescue water craft delivered last year. The jetskis proved useful in extremely rough conditions that made it difficult for a larger boat to approach the rocky island.
After about an hour, a volunteer coaxed the dog onto the back of a jetski near Smugglers Cove, a rocky outcrop.
“We put him on to the ski and he was a bit like the drover’s dog,” Ingamells said.
“We’ve been training for months, and he’s got the accolade for being the first rescue. It turns out to be a puppy instead of a person.”
Ingamells said the dog had not been properly identified so far, but a good Samaritan had called in saying they believed the pup’s name was Oscar.
He said the quick rescue reflected the local response.
“There were all these people all on the radio, saying ‘We’ll bring out a tinny,’” he said.
“I think everyone in the bay at one stage wanted to save the dog.”
Oscar, or whoever he is, was taken to the vet with cut paws from the rocks on Snapper Island. Officials are now working to reunite him with his owners.
“Council rangers report the dog did not have a microchip but the owners have made contact,” a spokesperson with Eurobodalla Shire Council said.
“Rangers hope to reunite the dog with its family following a yard inspection.”
“They say the dog was very lucky and the event highlights the importance of pets being registered and identifiable.”
The dog is not the first animal Ingamells and his team have rescued. He has taken part in efforts to free whales from entanglements, aided a dolphin in distress, saved a kangaroo chased into the water by a dog, and during floods in the region, worked to rescue sheep swept away by the water.
“We’re wondering what’s coming next,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter, we’re there to do a job. We’re all volunteers here and we’ve got a really good community. They keep their eyes open all along the coast. If they see things, they notify us.”
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