Marine rescuers have conducted a two-hour "hide and seek" rescue mission off the coast of New South Wales to save a dog swept out to sea.
Distressed onlookers made multiple reports to Marine Rescue NSW after witnessing a dog paddling for its life in the ocean, nearly 300m from the shores of Batemans Bay, at about midday on Monday.
Marine rescue operators on the state's south coast located the dog after he swam to an islet hundred of metres farther from the initial sighting.
The animal had found safety on Snapper Island, a one-hectare nature reserve about 800m from the mainland.
"The dog was fortunate to have reached Snapper Island and equally fortunate that sea conditions were exceptionally calm at the time of the incident," marine inspector Glenn Sullivan said.
The outcome could have been very different had conditions been less favourable, he said.
Marine operatives expected the rescue would last five minutes but it ended up taking two hours, as the dog managed to evade them, even with cut feet.
Emergency services said the mission was complicated by the dog "deciding to play hide and seek". (Source: Nine)
"He decided to play hide and seek with us so it was an interesting time," rescuer and Batemans Bay commander Rod Ingamells said.
While he has previously rescued a kangaroo at sea, this was the rescue volunteer's first time performing a marine rescue for a dog.
The canine was taken back to the mainland on the back of a jetski where it was attended to by vets and handed over to the rangers at Eurobodalla Shire Council.
"We have received much interest in the dog from the public," a council spokesperson told AAP.
The dog was well known to thh council and will be reunited with its owner after rangers conduct a property inspection to ensure there is an adequate enclosure.
Snapper Island has a "no landing" policy for the general public and is home to a colony of fairy penguins, the smallest species of its kind worldwide.
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