A miniature dachshund, which fell off a 120 foot tall cliff, spent two days perched on a tiny ledge before being rescued by a drone operator.
The nine-year-old sausage dog, called Cola, disappeared while on a clifftop walk, after her owner, Ella Derkacz, turned her back to take a picture.
Mrs Derkacz became convinced her dog had tried to make her way back to the car and had gotten lost in nearby woods in Trimingham, Norfolk.
But fears for the tiny dachshund soon began to grow after a search involving 60 villagers failed to find the missing dog as a thunder storm swept across the area.
Cola was, however, saved after an expert drone operator discovered the lost dachshund perched on a ledge halfway down the 120 foot high cliff.
The missing dachshund was reunited with its owner after being rescued from the ledge
Ella Derkacz (left) and her husband Richard Derkacz (right) were reunited with Cola after she was discovered perching on a ledge
The drone expert was brought in after dozens of local villagers turned out to look for Cola with Mrs Derkacz and her husband Richard.
Five people with drones also joined the search alongside a person with their own infra-red camera, but no trace of Cola was found.
Fears for the little dog grew on Thursday morning when there was still no sign of her after a torrential thunder storm on Wednesday evening.
Miss Ledger finally contacted spotted a website for the charity Drone to Home which specialises in finding lost dogs.
The charity’s founder Phil James, a former Metropolitan Police constable, drove for three hours from his home in Nottingham to join the search on Thursday evening.
As soon as he arrived at 6.30pm, he quizzed Polish-born Mrs Derkacz about where she had been when she last saw Cola.
Mr James, 47, launched his drone from the spot and within two minutes spotted Cola perched precariously on a ledge just over half way down the clay cliff.
He went down to the beach and was able to scramble up the cliff to reach Cola and bring her back down to her relieved owners.
Mr James said: ‘When I arrived at Trimingham, the first thing I did was to get Ella to re-enact exactly where she was when Cola disappeared.
‘She showed me the position where see had been taking pictures out to sea on the clifftop path, and then looked down to see Cola had gone.
Cola was spotted perched precariously on a cliff by expert drone operator Phil James
Expert drone operator Phil James (pictured) discovered Cola perched precariously on a ledge
The nine-year-old dachshund is now recovering at her home in Mundesley in Norfolk
‘Normally, her dog does not leave her side, but she convinced herself that she must have tried to make her own way back to her car.
‘I could see a bit of flattened grass right by the edge of the cliff and it made me think she might have gone over.
‘When I got the drone up, I could see Cola perched halfway down within a couple of minutes. She was alive and moving her head around.
‘We all went to the beach and I decided it was safe enough to clamber up to get her. The first thing she did was growl at me, and I spent a few minutes getting close enough to her to put a lead on her harness.
‘I checked her out provisionally and she was absolutely fine, so I slid down the cliff on my backside with her in my arms.
‘Her owners were naturally overjoyed to be reunited with her.
‘She was slightly dehydrated and needed some water, but had been suffering from exposure to the sea air with the sea salt starting to gunge up her eyes.
‘Luckily she was slightly overweight and that must have helped her survive two nights in the open without anything to eat.’
The dachshund went missing while on a clifftop walk in Norfolk with her owner Ella Derkacz
Cola was checked over by a vet after being reunited with her owners Ella Derkacz (left) and her husband Richard Derkacz (right)
Cola was checked over by a vet, and found to have escaped with nothing more serious than some scratched paw pads.
She is now recovering with Mr and Mrs Derkacz at their home in nearby Mundesley.
Miss Ledger who lives on top of the cliff: ‘My friend called me after finding Ella in a distraught state while looking for her dog.
‘I came over and helped organise the search because Ella’s English was not that good.
‘She told me that Cola was really timid and might be in the woods. Someone said they thought they had heard some whining in the woods so that is where we started to look.
‘My concern was that her harness might have snagged against something and she could have been trapped.
‘The owner put out food and left her jumper in the woods which had her scent on it to try and attract her pet.
‘But unbeknown to everyone, she had actually gone down the cliff. I am so pleased that I found out about Drone to Home and contacted them.
‘As Phil is a former police officer, he asked all the right questions and managed to find Cola by putting up his drone in the right spot. Everyone had been looking in the wrong place.
‘The clay on the cliff had hardened because of the summer sun, so it was rock hard which meant that Phill was able to climb up and get her.
‘It was just fantastic seeing her being rescued. I will never forget it. It was a very emotional moment and everyone was crying.
‘It is incredible that Cola managed to sit so still and not move on such a tiny ledge.’
