Luke O'Nien saves dog on Sunderland beach in heroic act before Coventry City game

Sunderland player Luke O'Nien helped rescue a dog who had got into trouble on a Wearside beach on Thursday evening.

Eyewitnesses reported that an elderly dog was swimming in the sea but ran into difficulties and had to be pulled out of the water by the dog's owner.

Passers-by described a young man running over to help the woman owner with O'Nien pumping the dog's chest until the labrador coughed up seawater and began to breathe again.

And now Sunderland AFC have confirmed to The Echo that the story is indeed true after it was widely shared on social media with O'Nien set to start against Coventry City in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The 28-year-old joined Sunderland back in 2018 and has featured 222 times in all competitions for the Black Cats and is head coach Tony Mowbray's current captain.

Now entering his sixth season with the club, the former Wycombe Wanderers and Watford man helped Sunderland to promotion from League One during the 2021-22 season and started as the Wearsiders won at Wembley in the play-off final that season.

In January, O'Nien once again made headlines for his kindness after the defender came to the aid of a stricken motorist on the A19 just days before Sunderland's game against Middlesbrough.

Sarah Whitaker, accompanied by her kids and heading home from Dalton Park, suffered a flat tyre on her car whilst heading southbound. Sarah, who spoke to The Echo about the incident, and her family had already waited an hour and a half on a grass verge in the cold waiting for the recovery truck before O’Nien arrived to offer some moral support.