Rusty saved from the surf

There's a very good chance that one Timaru family would now be without a dog if not for the efforts of two surfers and some helpful bystanders on Friday.

Rusty, a 2-year-old american staffordshire terrier, ran into the surf at Patiti Pt and was knocked over by a wave, said Tweedy St resident Melissa Fleming.

"Once he went under the big wave, I knew he was in trouble," she said. She and her two young sons watched, helpless, from the beach as the dog was dragged out to sea by the undertow.

She called her partner, James Carroll, who left his workplace and rushed to the scene. He tried wading in after the dog, which by that time was about 50 metres out, but could only get up to his chest before the freezing water and powerful current changed his mind.

While James tried to organise a boat, the family watched their dog slip further and further out to sea. MORE>>