Dogged rescue: Moment Bruce the Alsatian is spotted floating three miles out to sea in kayak before being saved by two-man crew

Published: 14:13, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 14:19, 9 June 2026 An Alsatian was saved after floating three miles off the Northumberland coast on an inflatable kayak. Bruce had been playing in the waves on the shore at Bamburgh on Sunday afternoon when his owner put him in an inflatable boat and swam beside him. But a gust of wind dragged Bruce out to sea and his desperate owner raised the alarm. Nearby coastguards scrambled a lifeboat to help the stranded pooch but he was eventually rescued by the two-man crew of Serenity Farne Islands Boat Tours. Jimmy Reid, the boat's Australian captain, and his crewmate Aaron Fordy were filmed as they saved Bruce after hearing the radio alert from the coastguard. Mr Reid said: 'My emotions definitely got the better of me when I finally spotted Bruce in the boat. 'I had a heart-wrenching fear the dog was going to go in the water and stay there. 'When we actually got him on board and knew he was safe and knew the hard bit was over, we were both ecstatic.' Bruce, an Alsatian, floated away from his owner in a kayak three miles out from the Northumberland coast on Sunday afternoon A Farne Islands tour boat on its way back from the National Trust-managed archipelago spotted Bruce in the water The Alsatian was rescued by the two-man after his owner was forced to give up while trying to swim out to him The dog was brought safely back to shore and reunited with his owner. The boat's captain said the crew was 'ecstatic' to have rescued Bruce (L-R) Crewman Aaron, captain Jimmy Reid and Bruce's owner were pictured with the dog after he was rescued Mr Reid's crew was making its way back to shore after dropping off passengers on a tour of the Farne Islands. At that point Bruce's owner had tried to swim after the dog but had been forced to turn back. While Mr Fordy reached down to grab Bruce, Mr Reid manoeuvred the boat alongside the kayak. But during the rescue the frightened dog slipped out of his harness and plunged back into the sea. Mr Fordy managed to grab him by the scruff of the neck just in time. He was almost pulled overboard himself but Mr Reid grabbed his legs and pulled him and Bruce onto the boat. The dog was cold, wet and in shock from his ordeal, after which the pair wrapped him in towels and took him to Seahouses Harbour where he was reunited with his relieved owner. Mr Reid said: 'Bruce's owner had tried to swim out to catch the kayak but did the right thing by turning round. 'It could easily have been a multi-casualty thing if he had kept going. 'When we found the boat we tried to get a harness around Bruce but it just slipped off and he fell into the water. 'Luckily my crewman Aaron reached down and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him on board. 'If he hadn't grabbed him like that it would have been the end of any sort of rescue effort.' Bruce was hypothermic but the crew wrapped him in towels to warm him up before sailing back to the shore where he was reunited with his relieved owner. The Farne Islands are an archipelago two miles off the coast of Seahouses, Northumberland. Managed by the National Trust, the islands are home to more than 200,000 breeding seabirds during summer and a grey seal colony in the autumn. Around 43,000 pairs of puffins breed on the islands during early summer, alongside eider ducks and Arctic terns. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.