ohmidog!

After a string of recent deaths, the Coast Guard is warning residents and visitors to Northern California’s coast not to try to rescue their dogs from the ocean.

Five people have drowned since November as they tried to save pets swept into the ocean by rogue waves.

Coast Guard, National Park and SPCA officials held a joint press conference Friday, aimed at spreading public awareness about water safety for pets and their owners.

Allison Lindquist, executive director of the East Bay SPCA, was among those advising pet owners not to go into rough ocean waters to save their dog.

“Dogs are naturally better swimmers because of their horizontal body mass,” Lindquist said. “They are built better for riding out the current.” She said the best thing to do is to follow the dog parallel to the shoreline and call its name.

“Just let the dog do its thing,” Lindquist said. “When the current subsides, the dog will swim back.”

Rogue or “sneaker” waves have claimed five lives in three separate incidents this winter, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

In each case, their dogs survived.

In November, a powerful surf swept a family dog out to sea at Big Lagoon Beach near Arcata in Humboldt County. The teenage son swam out to save the pet. Then the child’s mother and father noticed him struggling and swam out to save him. All three died. The dog made it back to shore.

On New Year’s Day, Charles Quaid, 59, of Richmond, died after attempting to rescue his wife and dog.

Last Sunday, Susan Kay Archer, 32, of Shelter Cove, was walking on Little Black Sand Beach with her boyfriend when she was swept out to sea with her dog and drowned. The dog made it back to shore.

Gabe Pulliam, a 13-year veteran of the Coast Guard and rescue swimmer, said most citizens they lack the equipment and training to rescue a dog from rough and frigid waters.

“People who walk their dogs on the beach and notice strong surf should stay above the line where the water laps up,” Pulliam said. “It’s fun to watch the waves roll in, but respect the ocean and never turn your back on it.”

Pulliam is featured in a handout about pets and ocean safety released by the Coast Guard.

Two dogs found mutilated along some train tracks in northern California bring the number of mysterious dog deaths in the area to at least seven — by some reports nine — since August.

Foul play is considered a possibility the newest cases, involving a Labrador retriever and a German shepherd, because of the way the dog’s carcasses were positioned, authorities said. At least one of them had been decapitated, according to news reports.

The two dogs were found along the railroad tracks east of the Marysville City Cemetery. Marysville is about 40 miles north of Sacramento.

The discovery of aroused suspicion about a possible link to five other dead dogs found in the town of Linda, according to the Appeal-Democrat in Marysville. All five were found within 10 days in August, and at least two had been shot.

Fox News, meanwhile, reports there have been nine mysterious dog deaths in the area, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Neither of the latest two dogs found were shot, according to post-mortem X-rays conducted by a veterinarian.

Marysville Police and the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department are investigating, and have asked for help from investigators with the Union-Pacific Railroad Police.

“We still need to determine if all the damage was caused by a train or if there was evidence of mutilation prior to them being struck by the train,” sheriff’s Lt. Damon Gil said.

Gil said no definite links between the case have been established. “We don’t want people to panic about their pets,” Gil said. “But it’s certainly piqued our interest and we’ll certainly be looking to dive into those questions and examine the case further.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Marysville Police Department at 749-3900.