Dorset: dog praised for part in holiday park river rescue

As reported earlier this month, a dog owner became stuck in the River Char near Seadown Holiday Park in Charmouth.

READ MORE: Dog alerts holiday makers of owner stuck in river

The Echo can now reveal that the man at the centre of the drama was Jim Buttress, 76, a regular at the holiday park, who was staying there with his wife Jennie and dog Jack.

Mr Buttress contacted the News to thank the strangers who rushed to help him after being alerted to his plight by Jack.

The pensioner, from Basingstoke, was swept into the deep, cold and fast-flowing river while throwing a frisbee for his dog.

He said: “I threw Jack's frisbee umpteen times, but this time it caught the branches of a tree. I couldn’t reach it.

“I tried to get back up the bank and the ground disappeared from beneath me, I was swept into the river – it was ever so deep."

While Mr Buttress was stuck in the river, Jack ran off towards a group of holidaymakers to try and get their attention and led a woman to the river where his owner was trapped.

Mr Buttress said he swam to the side of the river where he was able to grab hold of something for stability, adding ‘it was so cold, I was numb, and all of the rocks and mud were coming down.’

He said: “I just shouted ‘help, help,’ I don’t know how long I was in there for - maybe 15 or 20 minutes. There was a strong current.

“All of a sudden, this guy came along with a ladder and lowered it to me. He jumped in and helped me, but I was just frozen, I didn’t know where my legs were.

“It was such a relief to be out.”

Jim and Jack (Image: Jim Buttress)

Once Mr Buttress was rescued from the river and had warmed up, his wife told him of Jack's incredible actions.

“I was so proud of him [Jack] and Jennie, my wife could not believe it. I am very thankful – he is one in a million and so intelligent,” he said.

Seadown Holiday Park (Image: NQ)

Peter Weait, 80, from Reading, was among the group of people that Jack had alerted when Mr Buttress was stuck in the river.

He said: “This dog kept worrying us and wandering around. Eventually, one of the women that I was with managed to get hold of it by luring it in with a biscuit.

“She tried to take it round the caravan site to see whose it was, but the dog kept pulling her across the fields, so she followed and then all of a sudden she started shouting for help.

“The dog had got us over there to get the owner out. I don’t know how long he was in the river, but someone got a ladder and managed to get the man out. It only took around four or five minutes for the dog to show my friend where its owner was."

Mr Buttress has told how he and Jack are rarely parted - the loyal hound loves riding around on his owner's mobility scooter, which is covered in astro turf to prevent the dog from slipping off.