A mile out. This is one of the most amazing things I've ever read. What a breed!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1849266.ece

That is unbelievable! They are rugged little dogs, people do not believe me when I say they are a big dog in a little dog's body. A mile out never mind the waves and cold! That is why I chose this breed, they can keep up with my lifestyle no problem!

It is also unbelievable how fast people on this forum pickup on anything Cairn. I was going to post this but I'm too late. Great story about a great breed of dog.

Poor little guy! I'm so glad he's safe!

Not only that, I read that Freddie the sea swimming Cairn is 14 years old. That 98 in human terms folks

Amazing! Here is the full text. Buzz LOVES water. He loves swimming and is not afraid of it at all. And he always looks like a drowned rat! What I can't believe is that the cairn was 14 years old! That is one strong dog.

Keegan

Fishermen catch dog a mile out to sea

Two North Sea fishermen made an unusual catch when they caught a dog.

Last Updated: 9:48AM BST 24 Oct 2008

Freddie, a 14-year-old cairn terrier, was caught by fisherman Jimmy Thompson after falling in the sea and swimming a mile out

Fisherman Jimmy Thompson caught Freddie almost a mile out Photo: North News

Freddie, a 14-year-old cairn terrier, became disorientated in the fog while on a walk with his owner Jean Brigstock.

It slipped into the water as Mrs Brigstock, 73, searched for it but had no success and assumed he was hiding in a nearby holiday park.

However, Freddie was swimming against the tide, almost a mile out to sea.

He was only saved when the two fishermen spotted what they thought was an otter, went to investigate and saw the dog.

They pulled him out and contacted the coastguard, as they were not due to return to shore for days, which sent a boat to retrieve him.

Then, by chance, her daughter Wendy came across the wife of one of the fishermen, who told her they had found Freddie.

Mrs Brigstock said: "It was a beautiful day, and I was taking him on his usual walk, but all of a sudden, a heavy sea fret set in quickly, and I couldn't see Freddie anymore.

"I looked for him for hours, and others helped. There was no sign of him, but I was convinced he would eventually turn up.

"I was desperate. He's my companion and he's so important to me. We walk twice a day down on the beach.

"I knew he hated water so I thought he'd head for the dunes rather than the sea. It really didn't enter my head that he would swim.

"He rarely goes through a puddle and has an aversion to baths."

She said: "When I found out he had been found all that way out, I felt frightened. I worried about what state he would be in. He looked like a drowned rat when they found him."

Freddie was taken to the vet but was unscathed.

Mrs Brigstock added: "The night he was rescued, he was a little bit under the weather. He was quite quiet and feeling sorry for himself.

"But the next morning he was ready for his breakfast."

>>

One of the rescues I fostered (and somehow she just moved into our hearts and has been with us now for almost 2 years!) had been taken in after a neighbor said she'd been living in the wild for a very long time. Her owner had abandoned her after 10 years. She was diagnosed with OM and possibly that's why he dumped her.

She is now a totally spoiled senior queen of our house.

They are incredibly tough little dogs.

So happy he got back to his momma! This just teaches us no matter how old they are they need to be leashed, at least in the fog and on a beach

Awesome story...I am not surprised!

I'm signed up for Google Alerts for cairn terriers, so I usually see things pretty quickly.

There was another article that said he was swimming against the tide on the way out!