Drama as Dingle coastguards scale cliff to save a dog's life
They say all dogs go to Heaven, but one dog was spared an early trip there last Sunday as the Dingle Coastguard rescued a Kerry Collie named Betsy, who had been stranded on a ledge on the Three Sisters cliff range in Ballyferriter for almost two days after falling overboard during a family fishing trip. The immense bravery of the local coastguards secured a happy ending for Betsy and her family as rough seas prevented access by sea and climbers had to abseil almost 600 metres down the sheer cliff face of the Three Sisters, a ridge of jagged cliffs which jut out into the sea, to lift the three year old dog to safety.
"We got the call from Valentia Lifeboat that the dog was stranded on early on Sunday" explained Tom Kennedy of Dingle Coastguard.
"Rough seas made a sea rescue impossible so we had to tackle the operation from the cliffs." "We were able to get to the dog and lift her to safety at about 4pm."
Betsy had been out at sea on fishing boat last Friday with her family and owner, young Tadhg Ó'Dubháin, a native of Co. Down whose family have West Kerry roots.
Betsy jumped overboard and her family were unable to retrieve her.
The clever dog swam for her life amid a ferocious current, making her way to the nearest ledge almost a mile away from where she fell in the water.
Poor Betsy was then stranded on the dangerous cliff ledge and despite the efforts of her family on Friday and on Saturday, they were unable to reach her. Valentia Coastguard were notified on Sunday who alerted the Dingle rescue team.
"It was a very high cliff but a sea rescue was ruled out because of the weather conditions" Tom explained.
"Two climbers scaled the cliff, down 600 metres and managed to reach the dog."
"We then put her into what we call a pog-rope bag, which is kind of like a rug-sack and we lifted her to safety."
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