A pet dog has cheated death by just a few seconds after being cut off by rising tides off the coast of Fife.
A rapid rescue lifeboat was deployed when 15-year-old arthritic mongrel Sheba was spotted close to Crail harbour on Saturday. She had been reported missing by distraught owner Margaret Gallivan the night before.
Sheba was eventually hauled to safety just seconds before the high tides would have swept her away.
Ms Gallivan, from Bridge of Allan, was holidaying in Crail when her beloved pet went missing.
“We had a garden at the house we were staying in and we thought it was secure enough so had let Sheba do as she pleased,” she told The Courier. “However, she went missing on Friday night and I contacted the police.”
Ms Gallivan heard nothing more until Saturday morning, when officers called to tell her Sheba had been hauled to safety.
“I was just so relieved,” she said. “I dread to think what might have happened I could so easily have lost her.”
Ms Gallivan has had Sheba, a rescue dog, for eight years now and the pair are inseparable.
“I had been out looking for her after she went missing but I couldn’t find her anywhere. It was terrible, so I am delighted to have her back.”
Ms Gallivan paid tribute to Sheba’s rescuers and said she would be making a donation to the lifeboat fund.
Thomas Smith, the harbourmaster at Crail, said, “A man who was looking out over the harbour raised the alarm after noticing that the dog appeared to be in trouble.
“The animal was on the rocks and the tide was coming in pretty rapidly. It was clear that the dog was in danger of drowning so we called the coastguard and they launched a rapid response boat from Anstruther.”
The crew reached Sheba just in time. Officials from the SSPCA checked her over before she was handed back to her very grateful owner.
Sheba appears to be none the worse for her adventure, although she is understandably exhausted following the trauma.
“She has pretty much been sleeping ever since although she first ate an extremely hearty meal,” Ms Gallivan said. “There do not seem to be any other ill-effects so, all in all, she has had a very lucky escape.”