What was meant to be a relaxing Father’s Day walk for dad-of-two Miles Pettit along the scenic cliffs of the Isle of Man with his pet turned into a daring rescue mission
A dog is “lucky to be alive” after she plunged 250ft off a cliff after falling while chasing rabbits. Miles Pettit, 44, was enjoying an evening Father’s Day walk with his three-year-old Airedale Terrier Beatrice along Marine Drive in Douglas on the Isle of Man at 8:20 pm on Sunday. But all of a sudden, the pooch pounced after some rabbits.
Beatrice disappeared out of sight along the scenic cliffs. And after reaching the edge of the cliff, the dad-of-two said he saw the pup slowly tumble down the mountain until she landed on a steep perch of earth and rock. Miles revealed he only became worried as after a couple of attempts of trying to climb back up Beatrice wasn’t making any progress as the ground was breaking beneath her paws.
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It was only then when Miles, an artisan baker, decided to call the Douglas Coastguard Rescue Team (DCRT).
They were thankfully able to retrieve the “shaken” canine after a daring rescue mission. After initial reports that Beatrice had fallen 100ft, the coastguards confirmed that she had in fact dropped more than twice that distance at 250ft.
Miles said his dog “is lucky to be alive”. He added: “I am really happy she was retrieved – it would have been a terrible way to end what was a lovely day if we hadn’t been so lucky.
“The coastguards arrived 20 minutes after my phone call and acted very quickly to save her from dropping further – they did a fantastic job. It was a shock for her (Beatrice) too – she has been very clingy since it happened.
“Hopefully she knows better for next time she is chasing a bunny. Fingers crossed she won’t be doing it again anytime soon.”
A Facebook post from the DCRT later on that evening read: “At 20.20 this evening Douglas Coastguards were called to rescue a dog that had gone over the Marine Drive while chasing rabbits.
Once on scene we were able to establish the dogs location and were quickly able to establish a holdfast to enable us to be able to lower a cliff tech to the dog and recover him.
“We are happy to report that the dog was soon back with his owner none the worse for his experience.”
One grateful user replied: “Great job.. thank you.. these things happen and our public are very lucky to have you to have our backs.”
Another added: “Very very lucky dog. And fantastic job as ever by our coastguards,” while other hailed their efforts as “amazing.”