A dog that plunged 131ft off a cliff edge has survived with only a small cut and a stitch to his back leg.
Eddie, a one-year-old Cocker Spaniel, fell to the ground after toppling over the edge of Whitestone Cliff, North Yorkshire, in January.
The dog’s owner Rowena Adamson, 70, said her ‘heart plummeted’ when she saw Eddie laying motionless and feared for the worst after her other dog passed away the year before.
But the dog has now been named ‘Eddie the Eagle’ after walking away from the accident with only a scratch.
The dog’s owner Rowena Adamson, 70 (pictured), said her ‘heart plummeted’ when she saw Eddie laying motionless and feared for the worst after her other dog passed away the year before
Eddie, a one-year-old Cocker Spaniel, plunged to the ground after toppling over the edge of Whitestone Cliff (pictured), North Yorkshire, in January
Mrs Adamson said Eddie is usually glued to her side so she let him off the lead while exploring the North York Moors beauty spot with a friend last month.
She added: ‘He started to venture away from me so I shouted him back, thinking I better get him on his lead, when he disappeared from view.
‘My heart plummeted because I am familiar with that area and I knew on the other side of where he’d gone down was a big rock drop and there was no way he could survive that.
‘I had recently lost my last dog and only got Eddie in August so my first thought was “Oh no, I can’t lose him too.”‘
Mrs Adamson, a retired postwoman, looked over the edge to see Eddie laying motionless below and quickly rushed to Sutton Bank Visitor Centre to get help.
Caretaker Paul Christie, 48, called mountain rescue volunteers for help and headed to the cliff edge.
He said: ‘I laid down and looked over the side and I could have sworn I saw a bit of movement.
‘We got his owner’s friend to call his name and I was amazed to see him move his head. I shouted: “He’s alive!.”‘
Mr Christie made a start to the bottom of the cliff while seeking guidance from mountain rescue, walking half a mile along the cliff to a safer point and descending in a zig-zag motion.
He wrapped Eddie up in his fleece and kept talking to the dog to stop it going into shock while carefully making his way back up the cliff.
Mrs Adamson (pictured), a retired postwoman, looked over the edge to see Eddie laying motionless below and quickly rushed to Sutton Bank Visitor Centre to get help
Caretaker Paul Christie (pictured), 48, called mountain rescue volunteers for help and headed to the cliff edge.
Mr Christie held the black-and-white 2.5st dog out in front of him the whole way up to keep him as straight as possible.
He added: ‘It was important to me to get him back up that cliff as soon as I could before he came round fully and keeping him as straight as possible to be mindful of any injuries.
‘The climb back up was so hard but my determination to get Eddie back to his owner kept me going. My arms were hurting for two days after.’
Mountain rescue met him 15ft from the top and took over the rescue effort, taking turns to carry him on the 20-minute journey back to the visitor centre.
A quick check-up at the vet revealed he had a small cut on the back of his left leg that needed just one stitch.
Mr Christie said: ‘I do not know how Eddie survived that fall. It is all rocky and shaley at the bottom so there is no option of a soft landing. He is the luckiest dog alive.
‘When he saw me he sat up and started barking and it was a noise that made me feel happy inside, I thought: “This is fantastic”.’
Mrs Adamson, from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, said: ‘This has given us quite a scare. I used to call him Eddie the chunk but I’m now calling him Eddie the Eagle for his daring exploits. How he didn’t smash himself to bits I don’t know.’
Paul said: ‘Rowena asked what she could do to repay me for helping and I said what you can do is teach him to speak and let him reel off six lottery numbers because I’ve never seen luck like that.’
