Clayton Knipe, Magnolia, and Heather Swallow after their ordeal. Photo: Dan Coyro/Santa Cruz Sentinel
Early in September, a moonlit walk nearly turned into a disaster for Heather Swallow and her dog, Magnolia. Swallow and Magnolia were walking on the beach in Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, when the pair were caught by an incoming tide. Swallow escaped up onto the rocks, but when Magnolia, a 3-year-old yellow lab, tried to follow, she slipped. While the dog’s owner watched, she was sucked into a small cove, where she was unable to find purchase on the rocks. Waves continued to batter the panicked dog. “She got stuck in a cove and kept getting hit by wave after wave after wave,” Swallow told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “I was frantic and I knew she was going to drown.” Frantic, Swallow began screaming for help.
Clayton Knipe had just finished playing at an open mic night at a nearby coffee shop, and was riding home on his bike. Stopping for a minute to watch the waves, he heard Swallow’s panicked cries and decided to investigate. After setting down his backpack, he started to make his way down the cliff towards Swallow when he slipped and fell himself. Fully clothed, he landed in the water, close to Magnolia, who knew just what to do. “She knew she needed help,” Knipe remembered. After struggling for a minute or two, Knipe managed to lift the soaked dog onto a rock ledge, then began the process of getting himself out. Unable to manage the slick sides of the cove, he was forced to swim to another rocky outcropping, where he hauled himself out. “The waves were bashing like crazy,” he said. “I let out a little prayer and managed to pull myself up.”
Exhausted, Magnolia remained on the shelf where Knipe left her. Swallow tried to avail to pull her dog off, but failed. Then Knipe returned, grabbed Magnolia’s collar, and yanked her up to dry ground.
Magnolia is a therapy dog at Swallow’s work. As a naturopathic therapist in Monterey, she uses her dog to help some of her clients. “My dog means the world to me,” she said. “She comes to work with me. She’s such an important part of my life.”
After the ordeal, Knipe refused any reward. All he would take for his efforts was hot tea and a towel. “I don’t need a gold medal or anything,” Knipe said to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “Magnolia is a really sweet dog.”
