A dog has 'remarkably' come away uninjured from a 40-feet fall down a cliff in Bury on Monday.
Eyewitnesses reported that the Staffordshire Bull Terrier was spooked by another dog walker’s labrador, running away from the pair.
As the staffy did so, she tumbled down a cliff on Harvard Road — a drop of about 40 feet — and was left stranded in the brambles below on the side of the river bank.
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Now, the dog, named Stella, has been reunited with her owners.
“It appears that she may have escaped from her home and then got herself into trouble — I am just so relieved that she was unscathed as she could easily have suffered broken bones and could have fallen into the river,” RSPCA inspector Angela Paxton-Taylor said.
As soon as the labrador walker realised he could not see the stricken pooch’s owner, he rang the RSPCA for help.
When Angela arrived at the scene, she quickly understood that more support would be needed — so the fire service was called in.
One firefighter went down the clifftop using a rope to try and rescue the dog, but an understandably terrified Stella snapped back — forcing the team to use the water rescuers instead.
They managed to get over the river and safely coaxed the six-year-old mutt onto the boat before they took her to Angela, who was waiting on the other side of the river.
“She seemed a bit snappy at first but was obviously terrified from her ordeal but as soon as she realised we were there to help she was fine,” Angela added.
“I was able to check her over and remarkably found she had come through the fall unscathed and looked in good health.”
She was also quick to praise the ‘brilliant’ effort of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue.
Angela said: “It was a team effort in saving her — I am grateful to the man who spotted her predicament and reported the matter, also to the fire service who were brilliant and to the dog wardens who traced her owner.
“We often call the fire service for their help in instances like this which they use for training purposes so are more than happy to help out.”
You can support the RSPCA by donating through its website or calling its donation line on 0300 123 8181 .
