A happy ending for a dog and its owner.
The U.S. Coast Guard aircrew rescued a dog that had fallen down the side of a cliff at Oregon’s Ecola State Park.
On New Year’s Day, the dog, Leo, and his owner were on a hike when he took a tumble down the side of the cliff. While it’s not clear what happened to cause the slip, Leo needed help getting back up to his owners as the bottom of the cliff reached a high-tide beach where stormy waves were crashing into the shore.
Local firefighters and first responders were ready to repel down the side of the cliff when the U.S. Coast Guard came in with a helicopter and a rescue team that was able to deploy a swimmer to get the dog in a rescue basket from the beach.
You can hear one of the men say over their headset from a video that Fox News obtained:
“It looks like there is a little bit more beach where (the dog) is.”
The swimmer was lowered from the air to the beach, where he slowly approached the injured dog, ensuring he was comfortable before placing him in the rescue basket. Both dog and swimmer were then lifted back up to the helicopter, soon reuniting the dog with its owners.
In the video, you can hear the pilot ask the swimmer:
“This your first dog rescue, Jason?”
The heroic swimmer replied that it was his first dog rescue since becoming a member of the Coast Guard.
The helicopter landed in a nearby parking lot, reuniting Leo with his owners. The parents of the reduced pup noted that Leo received medical attention but will fully recover.
“Leo stayed overnight at an emergency vet. He has a few cuts and bruises. All things considered, he is doing good. We are so thankful he is alive and expected to recover.”
What a happy ending to have the dog and its owners back safely home. Thank goodness for the kind hearts of the local first responders and the U.S. Coast Guard for their rescue efforts.
