Yahoo News Moment lifeboat crews save woman from River Thames after she gets stuck trying to rescue her dog
This is the moment lifeboat crews saved a woman from the River Thames after she got stuck trying to rescue her dog.
The woman was stranded knee-deep in water, clinging to a ladder, after the dog fell in the river near Wandsworth.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) released the footage on Monday, using it as a warning to people about the dangers of trying to rescue their pets.
The video showed a lifeboat from Chiswick RNLI helping the terrified woman, who urged: “Don’t let me go.”
The assembled crowd cheered when the Labrador was saved and put on the boat.
The woman, who wasn’t injured, told the crews: “She was walking and she must have sniffed food. She went under the railing and I was calling her back and she lost her footing.
“No walking off the lead again along the River. No way.”
The incident happened on September 9, and was the seventh dog rescue the RNLI has been called to this year.
A dog and its owner found themselves in a frightening situation. Clinging onto a ladder and in danger of falling into the fast-flowing River Thames, they were in desperate need of help. @ChiswickRNLI launched and brought them immediately on board the lifeboat. pic.twitter.com/HwFDNNW3ER
— RNLI (@RNLI) September 24, 2018
Helmsman Glen Monroe said: "The woman was unable to help her dog back up the ladder, and the shore-side firefighters were unable to get to her. Our attendance prevented this situation from deteriorating.
"We always advise owners not to follow their dog into the water and put themselves at risk but to dial 999 and ask for the coastguard.
"We can reach a distressed dog very quickly and return it safely to its owner."
Additional reporting by Press Association.
