A black Labrador retriever mix named Sadie has been reunited with her owners following a dramatic rescue after she was swept out to sea by a powerful rip current off the coast of San Diego.
The Disappearance and Desperate Search
The ordeal began last month when Sadie wandered away from her owners' temporary accommodation while they were watching a football game. Her owners, Alexis Barcellos and Brandon Valdez, were able to track her movement down the coast using an AirTag attached to her collar.
The situation turned critical when surfers in Ocean Beach raised the alarm with lifeguards after spotting a dog being pulled into a rip current near the jetty. A major search operation was immediately launched, involving a U.S. Coast Guard boat and local lifeguards.
Lifeguards Garrett Smerdon and Jack Alldredge spent over an hour on personal watercraft scouring the area after Sadie disappeared into the channel. Officials reportedly told the pair they had only ten minutes left to continue the search before they would be called off.
A Miraculous Spot in the Final Moments
"At that point, I kind of just said, 'Please let us find this dog,'" Alldredge recalled. Knowing that Labrador retrievers are strong swimmers and fighters, Smerdon said they held onto hope that Sadie was still alive.
Just as they were being called off, and while still far out, Alldredge thought he saw something. "We got closer and closer, and then we realized it was her and we were pretty excited," he said. They found Sadie approximately half a mile (0.8 kilometres) offshore near South Mission Beach.
"She was super happy to see us, for sure," Smerdon said. "She was tired." The exhausted dog was transferred to a surf boat which brought her to shore, where she was finally reunited with her relieved owners.
Recovery and Overwhelming Gratitude
In a video message, Barcellos and Valdez expressed that they would be forever grateful. Barcellos recalled the tense moment the search was being called off, when she heard a radio call that the dog had been found.
"And we kind of just held our breath, and they were like, and the dog is alive," she said. "And we kind of just started crying right away."
The rescue was not without cost to Sadie. Her paws and nails were badly damaged from her desperate attempts to climb onto the jetty, meaning her owners had to carry her around for about a week following the incident.
However, Barcellos confirmed that Sadie has been in great spirits. In a heartwarming update, she revealed that this week the Labrador made her first trip to the pet store since the rescue to pick out a treat and managed her first 1.5 mile (2.4 kilometre) walk.
"We are just beyond grateful she is home safe with us," Barcellos said, closing a remarkable chapter of canine survival against the odds.
