A lovable Labrador named Fudge got himself in a sticky situation when he found himself trapped on a ledge at the Terra Nova National Park in Newfoundland.
The four-year-old chocolate lab was out hiking with his owners, Diane and Bill Hiscock, when he lunged off the cliff toward the glistening water some 100-meters below. Luckily, Fudge didn’t reach the water and instead, landed on a tiny ledge around a five-kilometre hike away from his owners.
Realizing they wouldn’t be able to get to Fudge quickly enough on foot, the Hiscocks called the Triple Bay Eagles Search and Rescue team, who were more than ready to take on the challenge.
Ed Osmond, one of the rescuers, said that he and his crew rappelled down the cliff. Meanwhile, the Hiscocks remained at the top of the embankment anxiously waiting and calling out to Fudge.
“They basically [were] keeping me in contact with Fudge by calling his name, but you could not see him, so we did not know if the dog was injured. We knew he was still alive but basically that was all we knew,” said Osmond in an interview with the CBC.
When Osmond and another rescuer finally reached Fudge, he was on a small ledge that was just large enough for the dog to stand on. They attached a harness with ropes to Fudge and then the rescuers at the top of the cliff slowly raised him up to safety.
“Here he was with his two front paws up on the cliff but he couldn’t get up because the cliff was too sharp and he was just scratching at the cliff,” Osmond said.
Fudge was happy to be reunited with his owners, and Osmond and his crew were more than happy to help, noting this was the first dog rescue ever completed by the Triple Bay Eagles Search and Rescue in 18 years.
Let’s hope that from now on, Fudge only takes leaps towards water from a cottage dock.
