Killybegs Coast Guard successfully rescued a local farmer’s sheepdog who had fallen down a cliff in the remote bay area of Glenlough, Co. Donegal recently, following a seven-hour long rescue operation.
The alarm was raised shortly after 1:00p.m on Monday, August 19 by the dog’s owner, who farms in the area, after he noticed his dog’s absence.
The coast guard was assisted by two additional farmers in the region who used their quad bikes to transport the team’s equipment to the site of the incident.
Officer in charge at Killybegs Coast Guard, Ronan McFadden said: “We had a lot of climbing gear, but luckily there were two farmers at hand to help. They had quad bikes so they took the gear up to the location and our team started hiking after them,” said the officer in charge at Killybegs coast guard, Ronan McFadden.
“It took them an hour and 45 minutes to get from the road to the area where the dog was. One of the farmers also had had a drone so we could see exactly where the dog was.”
Rescue operation
The team made the climb down the cliff to rescue the stranded dog who was perched on a ledge 30m from the clifftop.
“They had a bit of dog food to calm the dog down but the dog was actually glad to see them and came over to the team no problem, he knew we were there to help,” McFadden said.
Miraculously, the dog escaped the incidence unscathed and was hoisted back up to safety where he was reunited with his owner.
Coast guard
“The team were back at base just after 8:30p.m that evening. It was a long stint, but thankfully there was a happy ending,” McFadden added.
The officer was generous with his praise for the local farmers who provided assistance on the day, commending them for their instincts and willingness to help.
“The farmers did a fantastic job of helping with their quad bikes, we couldn’t have done it without them to be honest because we had so much climbing gear, we would have never have gotten it up in one run.
“It was a big enough cliff so you couldn’t go down without being on a rope system, so we also thanked the owner for making the right decision to call us, he didn’t want somebody else going down to rescue the dog that wasn’t equipped to do so,” he said.
While operations of this nature are uncommon, the coast guard will intervene in such situations whereby the risk to human life is heightened by the prospect of an amateur rescue conducted by lay people.