PORT ANGELES — A two-person rescue team used a rope system to retrieve an 80-pound German shepherd and its owner from a 200-foot ravine.
Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue and the Port Angeles Fire Department combined efforts on the three-hour technical rescue Saturday afternoon off of Henry Boyd Road east of Port Angeles.
The dog, Tillie, reportedly began chasing a deer before it went down a steep embankment and into the ravine, Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue stated in a press release.
The owner went to retrieve the dog, but Tillie has some hip mobility issues and was not able to get back up the steep hillside, the fire district said.
Neither the dog nor the owner were injured.
As crews assembled from the two jurisdictions, it was determined the safest way to retrieve both the dog and the owner was to set up a rope rescue system. The dog was packaged in a rescue harness and pulled back up the hillside, and then a second set of rescuers lowered back down to help the owner up the ravine, the fire district said.
The dog’s owner walked back up the slope with the rescuers while they were all secured by the rope system to prevent falling back down into the ravine, the fire district said.
An EMS crew from Olympic Ambulance confirmed the man was not injured.
Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue responded with one medic unit, one fire engine, one SUV with rescue equipment and several personal vehicles to the scene with 10 personnel. The Port Angeles Fire Department responded with one fire engine and two personnel. Olympic Ambulance responded with one medic unit and two personnel.
A sergeant from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office responded to evaluate if Clallam County Search and Rescue was needed, but there were enough fire and EMS personnel on the scene to perform the rescue.
