Meet 'Dexter' the luckiest dog in UK, who survived a 230ft cliff fall
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| Lucky Dexter and his owner Mark Harris |
Make sure you have a tissue handy before you start reading...
Having parked at the beach car park in Portreath I got myself
kitted up to go on a 15km walk along the coastal path and then returning inland
to return to the car via the fields and inland streams. On this occasion
Dexter (my springer spaniel) and I only managed to get 1km from the Portreath
beach.
We climbed what must have been
some 80m and then reached the plateau on the top of the cliffs. We were
20 meters from the cliff edge and Dexter’s recall is so good, I considered the
risk of the cliff quite low. However I never took into account what he
would do if a large bird flew up in front of him and disappeared over the edge
of the cliff. With hindsight Dexter should have been on a lead because
the sight of such a bird allowed for a red mist to descend over Dexter and he
careered straight after it. All my calling and shouting in that very
instant could not stop what happened next . . . .Dexter disappeared over the
edge of the cliff!
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| Dexter lying on the beach below the cliffs |
Knelt on the soft grass at the
top of this cliff, I was lost as to what to do next. I called my parents
and I was ready to walk back to the car but they said that his body had to be
recovered and to call 999. Immediately I felt so irresponsible to even
have to make the call to the emergency services for what was completely my
fault. I took a photo of him lying motionless on the beach as I needed
something to cling on to and remind me of my idiocy of not following the code
of walking dogs along the cliffs.
I was just about to call 999
when there was movement from below. First Dexter’s head moved a
little. Then he raised himself up on his front legs and the back legs
followed. His hind quarters looked very weak and shaky. He walked slowly
towards the sea and the wash lapped over his paws. He walked back towards
the base of the cliffs and curled up on the sand. I truly thought this is
where he had chosen to end everything. I thought he must have been in
such pain.
I called 999 and was connected
to HM Coastguard. The operator managed to pin point my location through
my mobile phone and he assured me someone would be there shortly.
Dexter had not moved. The
Coastguard arrived within 20 minutes - quite an incredible response time.
There must have been 10 of the team on site in this super quick time -
ashamedly all for me and Dexter. They got me back from the cliff’s edge
and took control. They placed anchors at the top of the cliff and with
lines attached and a pair of binoculars looked down at the beach below.
One of the team ran towards me and asked how close Dexter had been to the base
of the cliff. He had been about 1.5m away and he said the good news was
that it looked like he had moved right up close to the base of the cliff. The
words that are imprinted in my mind were “there is still hope”.
Due to the height of the cliffs
and more so their unsafe and crumbly nature, the coastguard decided to call the
RNLI boat from St Agnes to ride up onto the beach and pick Dexter up. I
was driven down to the harbour at Portreath to take Dexter and if still alive
and get him straight to the vets.
I had a vet in Truro ready to
receive Dexter and with the post code programmed into my satnav, I waited with
Colin and Mark from the Coastguard at the harbour. News came over the
radio that I would have to be collected and taken to the beach because Dexter
was not allowing the RNLI team to collect him. Then word came through
that they had him and the next thing I see is a small high powered dinghy
approaching between the harbour walls at Portreath and as the dinghy hit the
sand on the beach, one of the crew jumped out followed by Dexter on a
lead! How did he manage this?
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| Dexter photographed after his rescue |
We arrived at Clifton Villa
Veterinary Clinic only to be greeted by 4 vets who ran out to the car when they
saw me arrive. Dexter was carried into the surgery in his crate. I
explained what happened and they took my details and I left Dexter in their
capable hands. I am not sure what was more difficult for them, dealing
with Dexter or the wreck of the owner?
There followed the worst 36
hours I can recall in my life. I arrived back at the cottage where I had
been staying. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt
shattered and drained but just could not stop thinking about Dexter.
Gemma from the vets
called. Dexter was comfortable and was under sedation and had pain
killers administered. The good news was that miraculously he had no
broken bones. Furthermore all his internal organs were fine . . . . apart
from his lungs that had undergone quite severe bruising but it was not clear
how much. The plan was to monitor him overnight and see what a new X-ray
in the morning would show.
The night of the accident
whilst Dexter was in the vets was one of the longest nights I can
remember. I had decided to take Dexter back to my vets in Cheltenham,
where they know him and I had better facilities at home to look after him if he
made it that far. I had all my bags packed and the car ready to go. In
the morning I had no appetite to eat anything. I cooked off some bacon and
took one bite and was almost immediately sick. Tea was the only
restorative. I got a bed ready for Dexter in his crate on the back seat
of the car in readiness to drive him the 4 hours up the motorway to Dragon Vets
in Cheltenham. I hoped he had got through the night - it was time to have
positive thoughts.
I arrived at the vets and saw
the senior vet Ruth who took me through to see Dexter. My main concern
was that he had had such a shock and perhaps a bang to the head that he would
not remember who I was. I had a tennis ball in my back pocket (his
favourite toy). I walked in and although the tail did not wag, there was
recognition. He looked bedraggled and was covered in patches of blood
where he had ripped out his catheter. Ruth felt that he would be OK to make
the journey and would issue a few more pain killers. When ready to move
to the car, I went to the kennels and Dexter was on a lead scrambling to get
out! I lifted him into the back of the car and his breathing was really
laboured. He looked alert but also pretty sorry for himself.
We then started the drive up to
Cheltenham. Simply having him with me in the back of the car was a huge
comfort and I immediately calmed down. Whatever happened from now on in,
Dexter was with me and I had more control.
After being on the road for 30
minutes, Dexter’s breathing calmed and he had good periods of sleep.
Being in his crate, in the car, with classic fm must have felt a little more
normal to him.
Arriving at Dragon Vets I
carried Dexter in and he laid on the floor. He looked relatively alert
but had little strength in his limbs. I had left the paperwork from the
Truro vets in the car. One of the receptionists sat with Dexter and he
lifted his head and looked at me as I went. There looked like an element
of panic in his eye. When I returned he stood up and walked towards me
with his tail gently wagging. He knew who I was for sure, so no further
worries about him not knowing who I was.
I left Dex with the Dragon Vets
team and within an hour I had had a call to say that the X-ray had shown
positive results and the lung was looking better than the previous X-ray had
done. They were therefore going to operate and remove Dexter’s bad
eye. Two hours later and I received the amazing news that Dexter had made
it through the operation and was recovering well.
I picked up a sore and
disoriented Dexter at 18:30hrs that evening along with a selection of
drugs. I bedded him down on an old duvet in his room at home and he slept
soundly through the night. Although not through the ordeal as yet, as there
were a few minor complications Dexter has come an awfully long way from the
unmoving springer lying at the bottom of that 230 foot cliff.
If he isn’t the luckiest dog in
the world, I don’t know one that could be!
What have I learnt?
That no one should ever walk a
dog near cliffs off a lead however well trained you think they are.
That our emergency services are
incredible people. The drive, professionalism, team work and dedication
is humbling.
As I write this report, I can
confirm that Dexter is improving and growing stronger by the day. We will
return to Cornwall in the near future and I can guarantee he will most
definitely be on a lead!
Dogs love adventure and they can easily get into trouble at the coast. They can slip down cliffs and steep places while exploring and they can’t always make their way up again. If they do, don’t try to rescue them – they often come back safe and well on their own but you might not.
Always keep your dog on a lead near cliffs.
Don’t try to rescue a dog if it is being swept out to sea. You’re likely to get into difficulty yourself.
If your dog gets into trouble, call 999 for the Coastguard.
