A lost dog who was spotted perched precariously on a cliff’s ledge has been rescued thanks to a dedicated group of firefighters.
Firefighters in Grande Prairie, Alberta stumbled across the dog by accident when responding to a different call. An officer with Grand Prairie Regional Fire Service spotted the dog – but the dog’s location required a full-scale rescue operation because he was three quarters of the way down an 80-foot cliff cliff.
County of Grande Prairie
Rescuers had to hike 90 minutes in order to get to the spot where they could then lower one of the crew down to the pup.
County of Grande Prairie
In a video posted by the County of Grand Prairie, one of the dog’s rescuers, Travis Skrepnek explained, “I was … lowered about 60 feet down a ravine and over the ledge of the cliff, lowered down to the puppy.”
County of Grande Prairie
When Skrepnek reached the exhausted dog he said he was very happy to see him. “The puppy was pretty tired,” he said. Adding, “Thankfully he was very co-operative. You could tell he wanted help.”
County of Grande Prairie
The crews furnished a makeshift harness in order to properly secure the dog and winch him to safety. Rather than pull him up, they lowered the dog down to a boat waiting in the river below.
County of Grande Prairie
Once the dog was safe, the firefighters put out alerts about his rescue on social media and his family saw them. Named Toby, the dog had vanished on August 7, 2019 and was found over 62 miles (100 kilometers) from where the family had last seen him. The family was overjoyed at his return.
The fire crew believe Toby survived by drinking water from a puddle on the ledge.
County of Grande Prairie
In a news release, Grande Prairie Regional Fire Chief Dan Verdun said they were very happy they could bring the lost dog home. “The County of Grande Prairie is thrilled that such a happy reunion could take place with the return of Toby to his family,” he said.
Toby’s owner also took a moment to thank those involved in Toby’s rescue. “I want to say thank you to everybody that participated in this. You went way out and above beyond what anybody would do. It is seriously amazing,” he said in the YouTube video of the rescue.
Watch footage of the daring rescue in the video below.
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