Dog rescued after surviving 150-foot fall down cliff

A Christmas afternoon hike in Oregon took a harrowing turn for David Schelske when Sandy, his yellow labrador retriever, bolted away, lost her leash and disappeared near a 150-foot cliff. But it ended happily a little before midnight, following a descent and rescue of the dog from a narrow ledge by volunteers from the Oregon Humane Society. When he surveyed the cliffside where Sandy apparently disappeared, Schelske said, "I had no expectation of her being alive." But he said he had to keep looking, rather than tell his 8-year-old twin boys that Sandy was missing.



And if her body was lying at the base of the cliff, said Schelske, 46, of West Linn, he wanted to bury it. On Christmas, Schelske was hiking with his camera and backpack, using his brand-new retractable leash for the first time. He took off the pack and placed it under some exposed roots, tying the leash to it so he could take a picture of the trail. But something, Schelske isn't sure what, spooked 3½-year-old Sandy, causing her to bolt down the trail. Her leash yanked the backpack from the tree, causing Sandy to hesitate, then dash away again, trailed by the noisy clatter from the retractable leash housing. She disappeared around a corner. Schelske assumed she had run farther down the trail, but when he encountered hikers coming from the other direction, they said they hadn't seen the dog.





That's when Schelske realised she might have tumbled down a sheer cliff. As other hikers joined him in the hunt, Schelske hiked down to the base, but saw no sign of Sandy. Finally, a woman searching with him called out that she had spotted the dog. Schelske assumed she was referring to its body. But Sandy was standing on a ledge of loose rock, about 70 feet off the ground. She had apparently slipped down a steep slope, not off the cliff edge , and found herself far down what Schelske called a slot canyon. Apparently, she tried to climb out by traversing a series of tight ledges until she could go no farther. While Schelske and others were hunting for Sandy, a family called 911 for help.


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The dispatchers notified volunteer rescuers with the Oregon Humane Society. By 7pm, they had assembled at the trail above Sandy. Humane Society volunteer John Thoeni rappelled 150 feet down to reach Sandy, who was "pretty done" by the effects of the cold and rain, Schelske said. She allowed Thoeni to place her in a harness, and volunteers above hoisted the two of them to the trail. Schelske hiked out and was reunited with his dog and met the rescuers who came out on Christmas night to pull her to safety. The pair were on their way home by 11:45pm. Schelske called the Oregon Humane Society an "amazing, dedicated group of people." On Friday, Sandy was on her way to the veterinarian's office, where she would have a cut and various bumps and scrapes checked. But, Schelske said, she was behaving as if nothing had happened. "It's pretty amazing," he said.