Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/lifeguard-rescues-dog-at-sea/

A heroic lifeguard saved a struggling puppy that was trying to swim out to sea from a California beach.

The Long Beach Fire Department shared about the incident and rescue in a Facebook Post. In the post, they explained that bystanders alerted lifeguards to a dog running loose nearby.

One lifeguard immediately jumped into action and went after the tiny pup, but the dog ended up running to the ocean and was swimming out to sea.

It’s unclear what spooked the dog enough to run away and begin swimming, but the lifeguard knew he needed to act fast. He quickly grabbed his wetsuit and rescue board and started swimming after the dog until he caught up to her.

“The little dog made it out to the swim line, and with Rescue Boat 2’s help, LG7 could get the dog on the rescue board and bring it safely to shore,” the post explained.

According to Inside Edition, the heroic lifeguard, Chase McCall, said: “As soon as I saw her, maybe about 20 yards away from me, I hustled over to me and she came right to me. I just grabbed her and put her on the rescue board and held her for a second to hopefully help her to calm down.”

While the dog’s owner wasn’t identified at first, it was later discovered that she belonged to a man named Jason and her name was Tofu!

Per Inside Edition, Jason said that Tofu doesn’t do well with water and he thinks it’s “truly amazing” she went so far out in the ocean and that she was rescued.

Jason and Tofu were reunited and the pup is reportedly doing well after the incident.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog