A woman says she 'went crazy' and feared her dog would not survive when she decided to jump into a fast-flowing Victorian river to save her pet.
Madi, 29, was walking her rescue dog Minka along the Werribee River in Melbourne's west around 1.30pm on Boxing Day when the dog jumped in.
“She has never been in the river before and she chose yesterday when the river was really full and flowing very fast,” the dog owner told reporters on Wednesday.
“I got into a bit of mom mode and started running downstream after her to try to get her to swim to me, but the current was too strong for me to actually cross the river.”
Madi jumped after Minka but had difficulty getting out of the river, which was deep after days of heavy rain.
Madi, 29, was walking her rescue dog Minka along the Werribee River in Melbourne's west around 1.30pm on Boxing Day when the dog jumped in
Madi jumped after Minka but had difficulty getting out of the river, which was deep after days of heavy rain
“I just went crazy and decided to get in the water, which I think is exactly what you should do when your dog is having so many problems,” she said.
“I quickly realized I wasn't going to be able to take her out.”
She pulled Minka to a small island and clung to a tree until she “screamed like a mad woman” and found someone walking near the river to call for help.
Five water police, two search and rescue members, local SES and police all converged to rescue the pair.
Victoria Police Search and Rescue Acting Sergeant Nicole Bath said the river was flowing quickly and carrying debris when they found Madi and Minka.
“(We were) quite concerned about the speed of the water flow and how cold it would be as we waited there for a while,” she said.
“Our first concern was that we needed to get out there and make an assessment and get her out as quickly and safely as possible.”
She said rescuers tied themselves to the river and put Madi in a life jacket to guide them to safety.
Fortunately, Madi and Minka suffered no serious injuries during the ordeal.
Sergeant Bath had a warning for all Victorians as water levels continue to rise after heavy rain since Christmas.
Five water police, two search and rescue members, local SES and police all converged to rescue the pair
“We would like to reiterate the message of safety around all waterways and especially during flooding,” she said.
The rescue comes as two people died in storms in the state this week.
A woman, who has yet to be identified, died after a campsite was hit by flash flooding in regional Victoria.
Emergency workers were called to the Buchan campsite in east Gippsland just after 5pm on Tuesday.
A number of vehicles at the campsite were flooded and several people were safely retrieved from a nearby bridge, but the woman's body was found by police at around 6.45pm.
Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, a 44-year-old Bunyip man was killed after a branch fell on his property in Caringal, eastern Victoria.
Much of the state remains under a flood watch on Wednesday, with a moderate warning for the Avoca River at Charlton as it is likely to peak at seven metres.
As the weather improves, Victorians are being warned to monitor water conditions as rain has swept pollutants across Port Phillip Bay and into the ocean.
EPA Victoria is urging swimmers to check water quality before entering as it remained poor for up to 48 hours after heavy rain, bringing an increased risk of skin rashes, eye irritations and gastrointestinal upset.