Coast Guard rescues dog that fell 300 feet off cliff at Oregon state park

by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News June 16, 2023

A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria rescued an injured dog that had fallen 300 feet off a cliff at an Oregon state park.

Dory, a German shepherd, fell down a nearly vertical cliff from a hiking trail onto a beach at Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach at around 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Twitter thread from USCGPacificNorthwest.

A helicopter crew from the Coast Guard station in Astoria was dispatched to rescue Dory. / Video Image

The Coast Guard said the area of the park where Dory fell is only accessible by rappelling from a hiking trail.

An initial attempt by a rope rescue team failed to reach Dory from land, Oregon Live reported. The team then requested assistance from a Coast Guard helicopter.

Upon arriving, the Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk crew determined that the best way to reach the dog was to deploy a rescue swimmer.

“The waves were starting to lap at her, and she was sitting and just waiting,” said Lt. Jake Mullins, pilot of the MH-60 Jayhawk.

Dory was rescued about an hour after she fell.

Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Clayton Maidow, was the rescue swimmer. After swimming to the beach where the dog was, Maidow determined she was injured but conscious and could be hoisted to the helicopter in a rescue basket.

The dog “was scared, cold but very friendly and very docile,” Mullins said.

Once in the helicopter, Maidow continued to sit in the rescue basket with the dog to keep her calm.

“She put her head down in his lap,” Mullins said. “I’ve been at this air station for nearly five years and have never seen anything like this.”

Dory was reunited with her owner in the parking lot at Ecola State Park.

“The owner was extremely thankful,” Mullins said.

After reuniting with Dory, her owner took her to the emergency vet. On Thursday, Dory’s owner told the Coast Guard that she had no broken bones and would make a full recovery.

Membership . . . . Intelligence . . . . Publish

  ,

Coast Guard rescues dog that fell 300 feet off cliff at Oregon state park added by on
View all posts by Editor Two →