Cowichan Search and Rescue worked to save a dog stuck in the middle of the Cowichan River, near the Silver Bridge in Duncan.
Search and Rescue were called out at about 8:30 a.m., and it took them about an hour to successfully bring the dog, described as big and black, answering to the name Hooch, safely back to shore.
Jamie Tudway-Cains, president and search manager for Cowichan Search and Rescue, said the dog likely went into the water further upstream, then managed to make it to a sandbank in the middle of the river, where it was stranded.
Search and Rescue’s swiftwater team was called in and they paddled out to the sandbank and snagged the pooch.
Tudway-Cains said it’s always great to be able to successfully complete a rescue, and in the case of a pet, the idea is for the team to make the rescue so that the owner does not try to enter the water themselves and potentially also need rescue.
Patty Abbott of Cowichan Search and Rescue said the dog jumped into the river after a salmon, and wants to remind dog owners not to let their animals too close to the water’s edge, especially during spawning season. The river, she reminded, is rising from the rain and the salmon are jumping — a big temptation for a canine.
“Our concern is that someone might try to go in after their beloved pet,” Abbott emphasized the point Tudway-Cains made.
The owner came to collect Hooch following the rescue.
