Lucky escape for dog who fell 25m off a Cumbrian cliff

A dog who fell 25 meters off the cliff at Kells, Whitehaven in Cumbria had a lucky escape after it was rescued by the Whitehaven and Maryport Coastguard Rescue Teams. The young dog had reportedly slipped its lead whilst playing in the nearby field and subsequently headed off to and went over the cliff edge. A safety zone was established a Rope Rescue system was set up. A Rope Rescue Technician descended down the cliff and located the dog in amongst the thick bushy cliff area. St Bees RNLI Lifeboat offered assistance in guiding the Rescue Teams to the exact location of the dog. Remarkably the dog was in high spirits and uninjured and just required some gentle coaxing into the animal rescue bag. The owners done exactly the right thing in this situation by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard. SAFETY ADVICE Try and keep your dog on a lead near cliffs. If they pick up the scent of an animal or hear something on the coast below it doesn’t take much for them to follow their nose. Above all, if your dog does fall down a cliff or starts getting swept out to sea, please do not attempt to rescue it yourself. Nine times out of ten your dog will rescue itself and return to shore alive, but tragically some owners do not. Our Coastguards are trained in all types of rescue on the coast, including dog rescues. Do not attempt to climb up or down cliffs unless you are properly equipped and trained to do so and do not attempt to climb cliffs as a short cut back to the top and again.

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