Dog lost overboard swims ashore

Kano was found by a member of a coastguard rescue team

A dog which was feared drowned after falling into the sea from a boat has been reunited with its owners after swimming ashore against the tide.

Kano, a four-year-old mongrel, had disappeared from its owner's boat on Friday as it travelled from Helensburgh to Port Glasgow.

However, on Saturday he was found whining at the water's edge near the Roseneath Caravan Park.

Owner Sharon McKay, 32, said: "We thought he was definitely a goner."

We never thought he would have been able to make it to the shore Sharon McKay

Kano had gone out fishing with Mrs McKay's husband Donald and her brother John Cardoo, who thought he was sleeping in the cabin.

However, on arriving back in their home town of Port Glasgow they realised the dog was not on the boat.

Mrs McKay said: "He could have gone overboard anywhere between Helensburgh and Port Glasgow.

"The tide was going out at the time so he would have been swimming against the tide. We never thought he would have been able to make it to the shore."

The McKay family didn't believe the dog could have survived

Kano was found by a member of the Kilcreggan Coastguard rescue team who was walking his own dog.

"Apparently he was just pacing up and down the beach and kept looking out to sea," Mrs McKay said.

"Everyone was trying to coax him away but he wouldn't move."

Fearing the dog's owner may have been in difficulty somewhere a search was mounted, involving the Kilcreggan Coastguard rescue team, Strathclyde Police and an MOD police launch.

In the meantime, the McKays had contacted the police, coastguard and SSPCA.

"As soon as we heard Kano may have been found we went straight over there," Mrs McKay said. "He was going absolutely nuts when he saw us.

"He loves going out on the boat though so I'm sure this won't have put him off," she added.