It was a lucky day for a panicked dog riding the waves of Australia’s Gold Coast.
The dog landed in the water when the kayak its owner was paddling overturned. Vasco Vellez, the owner and operator of eFoil GC, The School of Hydrofoiling, saw what happened and responded.
Vellez, who was on his hydrofoil surfboard, in the waters of Palm Beach, Queensland, saw the kayak overturn, and then saw the dog floating alone, its owner nowhere near.
A Dog is Spotted Struggling in Open Water
The water was very rough, probably too rough for this type or watercraft.
In a video Vellez has uploaded to Facebook, he provides a running commentary of the whole experience.
“As I’m getting towards shore, I noticed that there was a canoe—or kayak—overturned, and there were people out on the water. And I went, okay, who brings a kayak to this?”
With regards to kayaking in the ocean, The Active Times has this to say,
“For sea and ocean kayaking you’ll need a specific boat because it is designed to handle waves. Most people can easily ride waves that are up to 3 feet high. Bigger breaking waves can be dangerous, especially if you don’t have a helmet. Paddling in larger waves can result in capsize.”
We don’t know if the dog and its humans were in the right type of kayak for the ocean, but we do know it capsized.
Vellez continues,
“So as I turned around I actually noticed there was a dog.”
At this point he tries to find out who the dog belongs to. As he surfs past the guys who had fallen out of their craft if the dog belonged to them, no one responded.
“By this time there are about two surfers there, so I’m leaving the guy alone, because they’ve got help. But I’m looking for the dog.”
He continues searching the waves, looking for another glimpse of the poor animal.
“And the dog is out—confused as hell—swimming towards the waves.”
A Rescue is Launched
Vellez begins whistling and calling for the dog, trying to get it turned around and swimming back toward shore, and at long last the dog started to pay attention. Which was a good thing, as it was just tiring itself out, not able to see where he was going because of the waves and getting turned around.
“I decided I better give him a hand because everybody was trying to help the guy.”
When he finally gets close to the dog, Vellez slips off his hydrofoil and into the water. He laid across the board and continued to encourage the dog to come to him.
And finally, the poor, panicked pup climbed up on his back, clearly impressing Vellez, who said at this point,
“Isn’t it amazing that animals know exactly what to do at the time. He comes up, puts his paws around my neck, and I kind of had to fight. And by this stage, here comes the rescue team.”
The dog stays perched on his shoulders for a bit until he’s pulled onto a jetski and taken away.
Dangerous Conditions for a Pet
We’re very glad Vellez was able to save the dog—the dog who should never been out there in the first place.
In a later interview with 7News, he said,
“If it was a quiet beach, the dog would have drowned. You don’t take a canoe or kayak out on a day like this, and you certainly do not take an animal.”
Hopefully, the owner learned a lesson and will never do something like this again.
As for Vellez, it turns out he’s something of a hero, so it’s not surprising he did what he did. Yahoo News tells us he recently made headlines in Australia for delivering pizzas on his hydrofoil during coronavirus shutdowns there.
Yes, unquestionably a hero!
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