California man tried to save dog who fell off a cliff. Then firefighters rescued both
Cal Fire personnel rescued a man and his golden retriever Thursday after they became trapped on a beach at the bottom of the cliffs at Dinosaur Caves Park in Pismo Beach. Neither were injured.
The escapade began Thursday morning when Shell Beach resident Ryan McCormick and his dog Rosie embarked on their usual walk, he said.
At the park, McCormick removed Rosie’s leash so she could play, he said, and she disappeared into the bushes.
Normally, when Rosie chases animals, she’ll return to McCormick pretty quickly, he said. So when she didn’t reappear, he started to worry.
“She didn’t come back to me, so I started panicking and I knew something was wrong,” McCormick said.
After 30 minutes of searching, he spotted Rosie stuck on a beach underneath a cave. He assumed that she chased an animal off the cliff, landed in the water and swam to the beach, he said.
“I’m just so thankful she’s alive. I thought she was gone,” McCormick said.
He scaled the cliff side to rescue Rosie and spent an hour trying to transport her back to the park before calling the Fire Department for help, he said.
“I don’t know how she’s fine. It’s a miracle,” McCormick said. “She’s just lucky she didn’t hit a rock, didn’t get broken legs or worse.”
Cal Fire sent seven fire engines and 25 personnel to rescue McCormick and Rosie, said Paul Lee, battalion chief of Cal Fire City of Pismo Beach.
After about two hours, they pulled the man and his dog to safety.
