It shouldn't happen to a dog

From this morning's Herald
Loyal lab didn't abandon N.S. duck hunter in sinking boat
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 8:30 PM AT
A Louisbourg man hopes he never has to relive the harrowing three hours he spent in a sinking boat Wednesday — with his loyal dog paddling behind.
Charlie Lahey was duck hunting on Bras d'Or Lake, near Christmas Island, when the wind picked up and blew his small aluminum boat off shore.
With waves close to a metre high, Lahey's engine died and then his oar locks broke.
A friend back on land saw what was happening 1,500 metres away and called 911.
"I was just stuck out in it," Lahey told CBC News. "I let [the boat] fill full of water so it wouldn't tip over. I made oar locks up with a rope and three hours later, I made it ashore."
While Lahey struggled to row back to shore before his boat sank, his dog Tess had her own struggle.
For the entire three hours, the chocolate lab swam behind the boat, refusing to head to shore. Lahey said Tess grew so tired she was frothing at the mouth.
"The wind took the boat and she couldn't catch up to the boat, it was blowing so fast. She wouldn't leave. She stayed right with me until I got ashore," he said.
Both Lahey and Tess made it to shore just as rescue crews arrived. They were both exhausted but otherwise fine. "I don't ever want to ever be there again," Lahey said. "It was terrible."
Rescue personnel say Lahey is lucky to be alive.
"[It was] not a day to be out in a boat," said Bob Bonnar, a rescue team dive master.
When animals will go the distance like that for us, why can we not return the favour?