The Zadar Police Department has admitted that its initial statement about the care of a dog released into the sea during an arrest was inaccurate. A witness told Index.hr about the dramatic rescue operation involving swimmers, children, and a Slovenian man on a paddleboard.
The Zadar Police Department issued new information on Monday, August 10, 2026, regarding the case on the island of Pašman, in which an officer released a dog into the sea from an official vessel during an intervention. In the latest statement, they admitted that the animal was not immediately taken care of by a municipal officer, as they had initially claimed, but that citizens from a nearby beach were the first to come to its aid.
The incident occurred on August 8, 2026, at approximately 5:40 PM, when police officers at sea near Pašman were arresting a 37-year-old man. According to the police, the man actively resisted, insulted them, and physically attacked one officer, causing minor injuries. After the criminal investigation was completed, a criminal complaint was filed against him for coercion against an official and for two criminal offenses against marriage, children, and family, after which he was handed over to the custody supervisor.
In its first statement, the Zadar police claimed that a municipal officer was on land near the official vessel and that the dog, after being released into the sea, ended up with him. "During the police officers' intervention, the dog of the 37-year-old owner jumped onto the official vessel on its own, and due to the immediate danger of the vessel running aground and the threat of the dog attacking the officers who were dealing with its owner on the vessel, in agreement with the municipal officer, the dog was released into the sea, where it was received by the municipal officer who took over further care of the dog," the police stated at the time.
A witness to the entire event told Index.hr a completely different sequence of events. According to him, after the police left, the dog did not end up with the municipal officer but first tried to swim after the police boat, then turned and headed toward a sailboat.
"The dog first tried to follow the police boat, but then turned and headed toward the sailboat. I also headed toward the sailboat because I saw some kids heading there too, as well as my daughter and niece, who were in the water closer than I was. The dog got stuck on the ladder and couldn't climb up," the witness told Index.hr.
The rescue operation soon gained more participants. "A little boy from Slovenia had already climbed onto the sailboat but couldn't lift the dog. When I swam over, I climbed up too, and soon some kids came with a paddleboard, and somehow with a little help from the paddleboard, we managed to pull the dog onto the sailboat. We gave the dog water, tied it to a leash so it could walk around but couldn't fall into the sea. Later, a Slovenian man came with dog food and fed the dog," the witness recounted.
According to his claims, the dog stayed alone on the sailboat overnight, and the next morning, municipal officers came to the sailboat and took it away along with the dog.
In today's statement, the police corrected their initial claims. "It was subsequently established that the municipal officer, after being informed of the incident by the police, took on the obligation to care for the dog. Before his arrival at the scene, the dog was taken care of by citizens present on the beach," the police stated. This confirms that the municipal officer did not receive the dog immediately after it was released into the sea; instead, citizens rescued it before his arrival. The dog was subsequently handed over for further care to a person trusted by the owner.
