The Clark County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit rescued a drenched dog named Ollie from the Columbia River on Saturday after the pint-size pet fell off a sailboat.

Ollie paddled and floated several hundred yards before Marine deputies could pull it out of the water. Fortunately, Ollie’s owners had equipped the canine with a doggy flotation device.

"We plucked a tired but happy Ollie from the Columbia and returned him to his owners," Clark County Sheriff's Office posted on its Facebook page. "Thank you Ollie for setting a great example and wearing your life jacket!"

Clark County Sheriff’s Office

Typically, the marine patrol conducts water search and rescues, enforces boating rules and investigates boating accidents.

Marine deputies also work with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and U.S. Power Squadrons to teach boating safety courses on the fourth Saturday of the month.

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Clark County Sheriff’s Office

The lesson today: Always wear a personal floatation device. Most drowning victims would be alive today had they simply been wearing a life jacket, said the Clark County Sheriff’s Marine Unit.

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Clark County Sheriff’s Office

Jason Denton with Jackson County Marine Patrol has rescued dogs that fell into the Rogue River. "They're cold and scared," he says, "but once you get them, you hold them tight until they figure out you're not going to hurt them."

He says it doesn't work to get into the water since the dog will swim away. Instead, Denton takes a jet boat toward the distressed pet and tries to hook it with a 10-foot catch pole.

"You might get scratched up," says Denton, who has saved lap dogs and a 45-pound Australian Shepherd. "Every dog is different."

[A Clark County deputy comforts the stressed pet.]

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Clark County Sheriff’s Office

The once-overboard Ollie was returned to its owners' sailboat.

--Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman

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