They're often used as rescue dogs. But no one seems to have told Arnold the St Bernard. The 15st hound had to be saved by a lifeboat crew after becoming stuck on a beach as the tide came in.
He had easily made his way down the 130 steps leading to Whipsiderry beach, near Newquay in Cornwall, on Monday. But when the time came to return to the cliff top above, the journey back up proved to be beyond the old dog's capabilities. As night fell and the tide came in, he was left stranded on the enclosed cove and nothing his worried female owner did could entice him to move.
Eyewitness Terry Barnecutt, who took photos of the scene, said: "He didn't want to walk across the beach. He just wanted to sit there. I knew going down the steps that there was no way he'd get back up.
The steps are not normal steps, there are double the height of normal sized steps. Even an adult would have to use big steps. The tide was coming in, it was getting on a bit.
The problem is there's no way out, especially for this dog who doesn't like getting his feet wet. Other than getting a chopper out, which is very expensive, there was no option to get him out, other than a lifeboat in that cove."
Fearing the worst, Arnold's unnamed owner called the coastguard. Newquay Coast Guard Rescue Team tried in vain to get him back up the cliff before resorting to calling the local lifeboat.
The St Bernard-mastiff cross was given a snack on the beach, then six people using an animal net lifted him into the inshore lifeboat, along with his distressed owner. They were taken around the coast to Porth Beach where crews carried the exhausted dog up the road.
A spokesman for the RNLI said: "The coastguard was concerned about whether they could fit a huge dog in the D Class lifeboat. The dog was fine, just very old."
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I am glad to hear all ended well.
Originally Posted by Ginger's Mom
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