Dog from Los Banos makes national headlines after being rescued in San Diego
A couple from Los Banos — or at least their dog, Sadie — made national news in San Diego late last month.
Alexis Barcellos and Brandon Valdez were visiting the San Diego area and staying near Ocean Beach, according to an Associated Press report on the Times of San Diego site.
Sadie, a 5-year-old black Labrador retriever-mix, wandered away from her owners and made her way to into the ocean, where she had to be rescued. The incident happened Nov. 23.
Sadie’s owners tracked her down via an Airtag on her collar. According to San Diego Fire-Rescue, the dog was found just minutes before the search was going to be called off. The search took over an hour.
According to a Facebook post by San Diego Fire-Rescue, here’s what happened:
“After an extensive search with no sightings, lifeguards began making their way back in — until a miracle happened. Jet Ski 2 spotted the dog about a half-mile offshore near South Mission Beach. Lifeguards raced out to get her, transferring the frightened pup to a surf boat crew that brought her back to Lifeguard HQ, where she was reunited with her very relieved owners.”
Sadie’s story was highlighted during a segment of “ABC World News Tonight” with David Muir. The segment has more than 3.2 million views on Facebook.
Abbie Black of CBS 8 San Diego interviewed the couple, who were relieved to have Sadie back home.
“You don’t want to overwhelm her, but you want to hug her, squeeze her,” Valdez told Black.
This story was originally published December 9, 2025 at 3:07 PM.
