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A late night callout with a difference saw a fire crew abseiling down a cliff in stormy conditions to rescue a dog.
Manly Fire Brigade responded to the callout from Tindalls Bay dog owner Valerie Burgess that her dog Jessie was over a bank, on Friday, November 18 at 11.30pm.
Valerie says Jessie had got out that night and was probably chasing hedgehogs.
When the family became aware Jessie was missing, they searched for two hours, before realising she had gone down the cliff at the edge of their property. The cliff is well fenced, but she must have found a gap.
“We couldn’t see her, but we heard her,” Valerie says. “It was too dangerous to try and get to her.”
Manly station officer Ian Thomson says the crew arrived to find the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel had fallen several metres down a bank and was about a metre from dropping a further 30m down the cliff.
The dog couldn’t come back up because she was entwined in gorse.
Manly fire fighters assessed the scene and made it safe, then the Level 2 Lines Team from Silverdale Fire Brigade, who are trained in cliff rescue, abseiled down, untangled and secured Jessie and returned her to Valerie.
“We are so grateful to the Manly and Silverdale fire fighters,” Valerie says. “We’ve only had Jessie since March – she is a re-homed dog and we love her very much.”
Station officer Thomson says the owners visited the fire station after the incident to say thanks and made a generous donation to the brigade.
