Close Collie: Pet falls 150ft off cliff and survives
Published: November 1, 2006
A BORDER collie was rescued after plunging150ft down a waterfall cliff-face.
Four-year-old Broc bounced off the rocks and fell into the water at the Falls of Foyer, near Loch Ness.
But amazingly, the lucky collie escaped with hardly a scratch.
SSPCA inspector Andy Brown, who is also a Coastguard volunteer, said: “It was a cracker. The end result was great.”
Andy, 42, was called to the scene by the Fire Brigade thanks to his expertise at cliff rescues.
He said: “When I got there, I spoke to the owner, Ph i l Fieldhouse, who was on holiday from Shetland with Broc.
“He told me Broc had been on the grassy bank and slipped over.
“Luckily, he landed in the water, although he bounced off a few rocks on the way.
“The dog managed to swim to land and when I arrived I could see he was lying still at the bottom of the cliff.
“It was a wee bit worrying as we didn’t know if he had broken his legs. We set off from the upper view point of the falls and I abseiled down about 65-70 metres to the dog.”
Andy said the badly shaken dog was obviously frightened and anxious because he could hear his owner above.
“I spent time talking to him and trying to calm him down, he added.
“I put him in a rope bag, which was a tricky operation and put him over my shoulder, with just his head sticking out. He was as good as gold coming up.”
The pair were hauled to safety by members of the Foyers Retained Fire Service and Coastguard volunteers.
Andy added: “Everyone was amazed Broc was not injured. It was a real team effort.”
Last night, delighted owner Phil Fieldhouse, from North Roe in Shetland, said: “I was so relieved Broc was rescued virtually unhurt.
“The rescue was absolutely brilliant, quite amazing.”
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