An adventurous dog’s snout was chasing fresh, spring scents when she tumbled down the Scarborough Bluff’s on Tuesday morning while on a walk with her owner.
Zara, a 12-year-old golden Labrador Retriever was out exploring the Scarborough Bluff’s when she wandered too far down and slipped, at the foot of Lakeside Avenue around 9:30 a.m., according to her owner Cindy Iannucci.
“I tried to get to her myself and thought this is not smart,” Iannucci told CTV Toronto.
Zara was stranded 75-feet down, perched against some shrubs on the cliff side, when Iannucci called for help.
Nearly a dozen firefighters arrived to pull the dog up the steep hill, in what Toronto Fire said was an unusual rescue. It took about an hour to retrieve her.
“She was the calmest dog I’ve ever come across, especially for a dog who’s been in distress. She cooperated quite nicely with us,” said firefighter Bill Zsepeczky who assisted in the rescue.
Zara was placed in a rescue basket by two firefighters.
“It wasn’t textbook, but we pulled it off,” said Jeff Whiskin, one of the firefighters who brought Zara up.
Hazards – such as the steep angle, vines and other remnants of debris from backyards – made for a challenging ascent, he added.
“We're more used to either a high angle rescue or low angle, but this was something in between,” Zsepecsky said.
When Zara was finally pulled over the ledge, snout peeking out of a red dufflebag-like carrier she was wrapped in, Iannucci, who had been watching nearby, fought back tears as she was reunited with her pup.
“I am so happy. Thank you so much, just thank you,” she told reporters, while hanging onto Zara’s pink collar.
Zara only suffered minor bruises and scrapes, rescuers said, and was off on the trails again.
