A seafaring hound who failed in his attempt to cross the Bay was picked up on an island by Marine Rescue.
About midday, Marine Rescue Batemans Bay received reports from the public that an aquatic dog had launched off Observation Point.
"It got swept into the water there somehow," said Unit Commander Rod Ingamells, who piloted the rescue watercraft.
"It must have just come up saw Snapper Island and thought, 'That's the only land,' so it swam over there instead of turning around and swimming back."
Rod could see the pooch on the northeast shore, so he put the nose of the vessel into a small cove.
"When he saw us, we got on shore, and then he decided to go around the back of the island," he said.
"We went round the back of the island and we couldn't find him. We finally found him on the other end of Smugglers Cove, on the south-west end."
The shoreline was too rocky for the boat to dock, so the crew launched one of their new jet-skis for a more nimble approach (the canine rescue was its maiden mission).
"He was about three metres, four metres up on the side of the cliff. He was just sitting there. No matter what we did, he just sat there," said Rod.
"But after about 20 minutes we coaxed him down and tied a rope around him so he wouldn't run away again."
The next problem was convincing the dog onto the back of the jet ski.
"He didn't want to go on, but once he was on, he settled all right," said Rod.
"He was like the drover's dog on the back of the motorbike. He looked pretty comfortable."
Once aboard the boat, the crew wrapped him in a rag and dried him off.
"The more we rubbed him, the more fur came off," said Rod.
"He was only a fine-haired dog, but he had a lot of it, so all the back of the boat is covered in fur."
Back at the base, rangers for Eurobodalla Shire Council were waiting to transport the patient to the vet.
"His paws were a bit cut up," said Rod.
"He'll probably be a bit sore in his sleep tonight."
Unfortunately, the dog - which appears to be a Staffy and Bull Arab cross - was not microchipped or wearing a collar.
"My wife and I have had dogs for years, and she's wanted another dog, so I rang her and said, 'Come and have a look at this one," Rod said.
"She said, 'No, he's too big for me.'"
Amazingly, this recent rescue wasn't even close to the strangest passenger Rod's had aboard.
"We've got a kangaroo, we've got a dolphin, we've rescued a whale and sheep, and now we've got a dog," Rod said.
"I don't want a cat or a guinea pig or a rabbit."
