Tennessee fire crew rescue five-year-old dog Carl from cliff after 17 hour ordeal
The owner said the five-year-old pup, Carl, was his ‘best friend’.
A five-year-old dog has been rescued alive 17-hours after falling more than 30 metres down the side of a cliff.
Four-legged Carl, a Lagotto Romagnolo, had a terrifying ordeal on August 13 when he ran away from his owner.
His owner, Scott Grissom, told the Washington Post the unfortunate escape happened while he was visiting his friend’s farm west of Nashville.
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When it was time to move on around 6pm and Mr Grissom called for Carl, he did not return.
“Then we heard him barking down the side of the cliff. And this is a 200-foot (60 metre) drop, straight wall going down,” he said.
The pup weighs a little over 13 kilograms and his breed is known for truffle hunting.
A call to a neighbour who had a drone led to Carl’s discovery, which was made difficult by the echoes of his barks.
It was not until around 3am they called off the search for Carl due to the low light.
Mr Grissom told local outlet WKRN the hours spent searching for his “best friend” were torturous.
“I was heartbroken,” he said.
“I was scared to death.”
The next morning, the canine was found by the drone at first light.
Carl was perched on a small ledge about 30 metres down the side of a cliff before a rescue operation was initiated.
The good news was shared by the City of Dickson Fire Department on social media on August 14.
They said it was a joint rescue effort with several other fire departments which took about 20 minutes.
“We don’t just rescue cats from trees,” the post read.
They wrote that Carl was rescued from “a ledge approximately one hundred feet off a steep embankment”.
To do so, two members of their special operations response team were lowered over the edge using a rope system.
Once down there, they rescued Carl, who was reportedly anxious and exhausted.
“These mechanical advantage systems provide the safest means to lower, and raise, rescuers and victims… even our four-legged ones,” they said.
“These are the exact situations our members train for: HIGH RISK - LOW FREQUENCY.
“This is what efficiency and effectiveness look like in real world situations.”
Thankfully, Carl sustained minor injuries from the terrifying ordeal.
“He’s running around and chasing balls like nothing ever happened,” Mr Grissom told the Washington Post.
