A tour boat crew rescued an Alsatian named Bruce after his kayak drifted out to sea off the coast of Bamburgh in Northumberland.
The incident triggered a multi-vessel coastguard search before the two-man crew of the Serenity located the dog roughly 2.5 miles from shore.
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The vessel had just finished dropping off passengers at the Farne Islands when the crew received the emergency assistance request to join the search operation.
Captain Jimmy Reid calculated the likely trajectory of the drifting kayak to pinpoint the animal's location.
During the rescue attempt, the dog fell into the ocean after slipping out of an initial harness setup before being pulled aboard by his neck.
The crew wrapped the hypothermic dog in towels to restore his body temperature before returning him safely to land.
"I went through this heart-wrenching thing of thinking the dog was going to go in the water and stay there," said Captain Jimmy Reid.
The rescue team managed to secure the animal on deck, bringing immediate relief to the crew members.
"So, when we actually got him on board and knew he was safe and knew the hard bit was over, we were both very elated," said Reid.
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Crew member Aaron Fordy owns two Alsatians himself, making the emergency operation feel deeply personal for the rescue team.
The dog's owner had initially attempted to swim into the open water to retrieve the runaway kayak before turning back to safety.
"I think it would have been a multi-casualty thing if he had kept going," said Reid.
The crew chief noted that while he has participated in various search operations over the past decade, other vessels had always reached the individuals first.
"This is the first time we've just been out completely on our own and it's definitely the first time I've experienced anything like it," said Reid.
The rescue team expressed immense satisfaction with the successful outcome given the physical state of the animal.
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"He looked like an older dog, and to be able to get him back on board was absolutely amazing," said Reid.
