In June 2019, something happened that I’ll never forget. Daniel and I went out for a dive, as we often do, to one of our regular sites about 1.5 kilometers off the coast. It was a calm day, nothing out of the ordinary, until we came back up to the surface.

Blacky, our beloved dog, had vanished.

He always stays on the boat with the captain while we dive. He hates water, refuses to go in the pool, avoids the sea, and never, ever jumps in. I once placed him gently in the water, and he immediately sank. Since then, we were convinced that he either couldn’t swim or simply wasn’t built for it. That’s why we never imagined he’d attempt anything on his own.

But when we surfaced, the captain looked at us with panic in his eyes: Blacky was gone.

Without thinking, we pulled the anchor and started searching. There was a sailboat nearby, so we asked them to keep an eye out. I called two friends who jumped into their boats and came to help. In total, four boats were now scanning the sea, and even the coast guard was preparing to come out with a helicopter. It was surreal.

I was already crying, imagining the worst, that he had drowned and that we’d lost him forever.

Then, we saw the dinghy from the sailboat waving to us. They had found him, swimming toward shore.

We were stunned. Blacky had never swum before, had never shown any interest in the water, and yet here he was, paddling his way back to land.

The relief was overwhelming. We were so lucky, and so grateful to the kind people who helped us search for him. But we also felt incredibly guilty. We hadn’t put his life jacket on that day, thinking he’d never jump in.

Thankfully, everything turned out okay. We learned a lot from this experience not just about safety, but also about our dog’s bravery and instincts. It was a terrifying 40 minutes, but it reminded us how quickly things can change at sea and how important it is to always be prepared.

From now on, Blacky always wears his life vest, whether he likes it or not.