Minnie Driver “owes her life to the neighbor’s dog after it swam out” and saved her in a surfing accident

ACTRESS Minnie Driver says she owes her life to her neighbor’s dog – after it swam out to save her following a surfing accident.

The 54-year-old Brit said pup Riley saw from the beach that she was in trouble when a huge wave threw her against her board and broke a rib.

The Alsatian-Labrador mix managed to help her back onto the board so she could float safely before swimming back to shore to retrieve his owner.

It happened in Malibu, California, on a beach where several television series such as “Baywatch” were filmed, including the opening scene of Pamela Anderson’s “Run by the Pacific.”

Driver – an Oscar nominee in 1997 for Good Will Hunting – said: “I would break my rib and the only thing about it is you can’t breathe.”

“And my neighbor’s amazing dog…basically came and tried to get me out.”

“He tried to somehow grab me and push me back onto my board. He was incredible.”

She continued: “The dog alerted him (the neighbor) that I was in trouble because I was walking alone.”

Driver told the Table Manners podcast that her son Henry, 15, inherited her love of surfing.