Man Saves Dog Before Wife From Sinking Ship in South Africa

A man saved his dog before his wife after
their yacht ran aground Sunday off the
coast of South Africa.
Realizing he could not save his wife and his
beloved 9-year-old Jack Russell Terrier
named Rosie simultaneously, Graham Anley
decided to rescue his four-legged companion
first, swimming the dog to the shore before
returning to the shipwreck to assist his
wife.
"He first swam Rosie ashore safely before
returning for his wife," National Sea Rescue
Institute North London station commander
Geoff McGregor said in a statement.
"As the incident happened Graham sent a
Mayday radio distress call and activated the
EPIRB (a GPS beacon) but they were
immediately forced to abandon ship,"
McGregor added.
All three were wearing life jackets at the
time, with Rosie wearing a specially
tailored dog life jacket that had its own
emergency strobe light attached, according
to South Africa's News 24 .
While Anley was in the process of bringing
his dog ashore, his wife Cheryl's safety line
got caught on the steering gear, preventing
her from swimming to shore by herself,
according to the National Sea Rescue
Institute (NSRI).
Graham Anley is a longtime volunteer for
the NSRI and said it was "humbling to have
the shoe on the other foot and need to be
rescued."
Once ashore, the couple was rescued by an
EMS helicopter and taken to the NSRI's East
London Sea Rescue base, according to
McGregor.
The couple’s yacht, called "The Boundless,"
was severely damaged in the wreck.
"Efforts will be made by the couple to
arrange to salvage what they can of their
yacht," McGregor added.
The couple has not responded to media
inquiries, requesting that all questions be
fielded by the NSRI.