Cliff Pinckard
cleveland.com
(TNS)
CANNON BEACH, Oregon — If a dog is a man’s best friend, then a member of the U.S. Coast Guard in Oregon should have a friend for life.
A rescuer with the Coast Guard on Wednesday saved a German shepherd that had fallen down a 300-foot cliff near the Pacific Ocean, swimming to shore in rough seas, then holding on to the dog as they both were hoisted back up to a helicopter.
The Coast Guard Air Station Astoria says the dog, Dory, miraculously suffered no broken bones and is recovering after being taken to the vet by its owner.
The dog fell down the cliff at about 7 p.m. Wednesday in a remote area of Ecola State Park, the Coast Guard says. The section where the dog fell can only be reached by repelling down a hiking trail.
Fire department officials made “multiple attempts” to reach the dog but were unsuccessful, the Coast Guard says. That’s when a helicopter crew was called in.
A video of the rescue shows a Coast Guard member being lowered to the water, swim to shore, then bring the dog back up to the helicopter. The dog was reunited with its owner in a parking lot at the park.
When questioned on Twitter about whether the rescue of a dog was a waste of taxpayers’ money, the Coast Guard responded “Not a waste at all!”
“This is someone’s family member,” the Guard responded. “The Oregon Coast is rugged and fire rescue made multiple attempts. The area where she fell from was slippery. If we used this logic with all our rescues, we wouldn’t do any rescues or even do hurricane search and rescue.”
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