Elderly canine miraculously survives after he slipped off an icy cliff in Virginia, officers say | EUROtoday

An aged canine was reunited with its household final week after the canine slipped on ice and fell off a cliff – leading to a suspenseful rescue mission by an animal management workforce in japanese Virginia.

Oakley, the 16-year-old canine from Giles County, was exterior at his household house Wednesday when his paws misplaced their grip on the ice and he slid backwards over the facet of the cliff close to the yard, the Giles County Animal Shelter stated on Facebook.

Conditions within the space have been dangerously slick since a storm dropped a number of inches of snow and ice. Even making an attempt to search for the senior canine on foot was harmful for anybody, the shelter stated.

But Animal Control Chief Bill Ahern and Officer Jacob Taylor have been decided to seek out Oakley after being dispatched to the yard the place the canine slid down the cliff.

“I stepped out and I realized immediately how slick it truly was,” Taylor instructed WDBJ. “There was not many footprints in the yard, which made it extremely dangerous and slippery.”

Realizing they might not be capable of seek for the canine themselves, Ahern and Taylor known as for backup within the type of a drone from the Giles County Emergency Services. The drone couldn’t spot Oakley – an all-white canine misplaced within the snowy terrain. It managed to identify his paw prints, indicating the canine walked away from his fall.

“We hoped it was our dog and not a coyote or something,” Ahern instructed WDBJ.

The workforce then made a name to the Virginia Department of Transportation, which dispatched a highway grader to make a path all the way down to the underside of the cliff the place practice tracks have been situated. The kind of auto is commonly utilized in development and makes use of lengthy blades to create traction on uneven surfaces.

Once it made a path, staff from Norfolk and Southern Rail descended from the mountain to scour the world for Oakley. It didn’t take lengthy to seek out the canine.

“Right before they actually entered the tracks, they saw the dog down there and were able to call it and get him into the truck,” Ahern recalled.

Despite falling down the slippery cliff, Oakley was unhurt and made it again house safely.

In a press release on Facebook, Oakley’s proprietor, Meg Nettles, stated that “words cannot express how grateful I am to this team of amazing people. I was simply helpless, and watching them fight so hard to bring my baby home was truly incredible.”

“The dedication and effort to rescue my sweet fur baby has got me in all the feels. Folks put it all on the line, going above and way beyond their job duties,” Nettles wrote.

Ahern echoed Nettle’s sentiment, saying: “We’re just lucky to have people who care enough to stop what they’re doing and come and help for a dog.”

Oakley miraculously survived the autumn with out sustaining any main accidents.