PORTLAND COASTGUARD COORDINATES CLIFF RESCUE OF DOG AND OWNER

A dog and its owner have been rescued after becoming stuck 60 ft up on a cliff near West Bay, Dorset.

Portland Coastguard received a 999 call just after midday today. West Bay and Lyme Regis Coastguard Rescue Teams, and Lyme Regis RNLI Inshore Lifeboat were all sent to the scene to help locate them both.
After further investigation, it appeared that the dog had gone missing whilst out walking last night, and the owner had then been unable to find it. The dog, a husky Alsatian cross, was located the next day but the owner decided to attempt a rescue alone.
After a two hour search and rescue operation, involving 13 Coastguard Rescue Officers plus the lifeboat crew, both owner and dog were located safe but entangled in undergrowth midway down the cliff. Coastguard Rescue Officers carried out a cliff rescue and both dog and owner were recovered safe and well.

Simon Dennis from Portland Coastguard said:
“This was a challenging operation, both in locating and then recovering the casualties. Our Coastguard Rescue Officers and the lifeboat worked together to ensure the safe recovery of dog and owner.

“After a number of similar incidents this year, we again urge owners to keep dogs on leads near cliff edges, and remind people they should call 999 and ask for the Coastguard rather than attempt to recover animals themselves. This incident had a good outcome for both owner and dog, but such incidents can very easily have different consequences”.

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