There are so many things that make dogs special, but perhaps the most important of all is their loyalty and their willingness to do whatever it takes to protect their friends and owners.

There have been countless stories throughout history of dogs quite literally putting their own lives on the line to help others.

They’re some of the most selfless and loyal animals around, and here’s another inspiring story of man’s best friend living up to the nickname and quite literally saving a human life.

The story begins on February 20th in Moreton Bay, Australia. In the early hours of the morning, a German Shepherd named Heidi was found swimming out in the water, surrounded by random fishing and boat gear like a tackle box, a wetsuit, and a fuel tank.

A local fisherman spotted Heidi and helped her back to shore, alerting the local police department.

It didn’t take the officers long to figure out what was going on. It seemed like Heidi must have been out on a boat with her owner and some kind of accident had occurred, leading to the dog and all that equipment ending up in the water.

A search and rescue mission was launched immediately, with a helicopter, jet skis, police boats, and other rescue volunteers setting off in search of Heidi’s owner.

As the rescue mission continued, more items were found floating around, and rescuers began to fear the worst.

Fortunately, this story turned out to have a happy ending, as a sinking boat was eventually spotted, with a man clinging to the side.

That man was the 63-year-old owner of Heidi. After being rescued by police, he revealed that the boat had lost power the previous night and started to take on water. He stayed with the boat, but Heidi drifted away, treading water and paddling through the bay for 11 hours in total in search of help.

And it’s very lucky for the man that Heidi managed to keep going for so long!

Thanks to her, officers were able to be alerted to the incident in time and launch the rescue mission that saved her owner. If Heidi hadn’t made it back, there’s a good chance the man wouldn’t have been saved in time.

Fortunately, both Heidi and her owner survived and were surprisingly unharmed by the incident.

Heidi was checked over by a vet but found to be uninjured, in spite of her 11-hour paddling session, and her owner also made it out of the water without any serious issues.

Meanwhile, the police department took the time to issue a reminder to all boat users regarding the importance of wearing floatation devices and carrying good quality safety gear on board at all times.

We would take this opportunity to remind boaties to plan for the worst when they’re out on the water. Always wear personal flotation device and ensure that your safety equipment, including EPIRBs, are tested and in good order. Thankfully there was a happy ending to this search and Heidi was able to be our honorary PD for the day.

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