By the time firefighters spotted the small black dog, she was already about half a mile from shore.
She was paddling through San Francisco Bay near East Palo Alto, visibly tired and surrounded by seagulls that repeatedly swooped toward the water. There was no obvious way back to land, but she continued swimming.
A rescue by air and water
A visitor at Cooley Landing Park saw the dog enter the Bay on July 16 and called 911.
Firefighters located her with binoculars before launching a drone to track her from above. Video from the scene shows a tiny figure moving through a vast stretch of gray water as birds circle overhead.
East Palo Alto police later described the birds as an “organized gang of seagulls” and rated the footage a “12/10 action movie.”
For crews onshore, however, the situation was becoming urgent. The dog was far from land, losing energy and had suffered a cut to her cheek.
An airboat was sent out. Once close enough, a firefighter leaned over the side, reached into the water and lifted her aboard.
After one very long swim, she was safe.
Nearly two weeks missing
Wrapped in a firefighter’s coat, the soaked dog was taken back to shore and transferred to Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA.
That was when rescuers learned she was not an unknown stray.
Her family had been searching for her since the Fourth of July.
Nearly two weeks had passed without a sighting. Her owner had checked local shelters and was beginning to fear that the call she desperately wanted might never come. Then the SPCA contacted her.
Her dog had been found alive, half a mile into San Francisco Bay, thanks to one perfectly timed reach over the side of a rescue boat.
Finally home
Nobody knows where the little dog spent the days between her disappearance and her unexpected swim.
What we do know is that someone noticed her. Someone made the call. And a group of people refused to let a tiny shape in a very big Bay disappear from view.
She just kept swimming. They kept looking.
And almost two weeks after leaving home, she was finally on her way back.
Sources: The Almanac, San Francisco Chronicle, East Palo Alto Police Department’s original rescue footage, and additional Facebook rescue footage.
