Two 16-week-old St. Bernard cross puppies are safe after spending several days stranded on a ledge of a cliff in Mission, British Columbia. For four days residents in the rural area could hear whimpering and crying coming from the forest.
โItโs day four that Iโve been listening to them whining and crying. Theyโre obviously in distress,โ said Emma Wilfert. โTheyโre howling and crying all day until dusk.โ
Upset that nothing was being done by authorities to help the dogs, she and her dad hiked into the thick forest to try and find the dogs. They found them near the top of a high cliff.
They knew they couldnโt make it to them. Someone was going to need climbing equipment to rappel down to them. Thatโs when word reached Missionโs Search and Rescue.
โItโs always a concern for us as search and rescue. We want to make sure the public is safe,โ SAR manager Dean Osen told CTV News. It took a crew of 15. They divided into three teams with two teams approaching the dogs from the ledge and one from below.
When they reached the ledge the excited dogs rolled into their outstretched jackets. โThey were excited to see us,โ said Roger, one of the SAR volunteers.
The puppies were so tired they fell asleep in their rescuersโ arms. The dogs were checked over by a veterinarian and were in remarkable shape considering their ordeal. They were thin and cold but not hypothermic and free of injuries and parasites.
It also appears that someone trimmed their nails recently. The veterinarian that examined them suspects the dogs were dumped.
The BC SPCAโs animal cruelty department has been contacted and the puppies โ now named Duchess and Francine โ will remain in their care until they are ready for adoption, just not yet.
โDuchess and Francine would like to thank everyone for their support while they adjust to life off the mountain,โ wrote BC SPCA Maple Ridge Branch. They would also like to thank the Mission Search & Rescue Society for going above and beyond to rescue them and Dewdney Animal Hospital Ltd. for being there to examine them. As these two are still on a stray hold they are not available for adoption.โ
But for now Duchess and Francine are happy, healthy and eating well.
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