Base Jumping Dog Video Shows Whisper Flying In A Custom Wingsuit, Owner Doesn’t Think It’s Cruel

The base jumping dog video called “When Dogs Fly” features a fearless canine named Whisper who follows her owner Dean Potter literally anywhere… even to the top of mountains just to make a leap with a custom wingsuit.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, one base jumper who crashed into a mountainside call his wife on his cell phone as he lay dying.

Base jumping usually involves leaping off a cliff, bridge, or skyscraper and then deploying a parachute. In the case of Potter, he is using a wingsuit, which allows base jumpers to glide like a flying squirrel for miles. But for Potter and his girlfriend Jen Rapp, simply base jumping was not enough. They wanted to take man’s best friend along for the ride, which required creating a custom wingsuit:

“I got Whisper when she was a little puppy and I hated leaving her at home, because I would go on these six-to-eight-hour hikes—I would BASE jump every day, and I’d have to leave her behind. It took three times, and the first two prototypes, we didn’t even get out of the shop. And we finally got it on the third try. We did some test runs with her favorite stuffed animal, her lion toy…And just to make sure she was okay with speed, I rode around with her on my bicycle and motorcycle, cruising at about 80 miles an hour…So I knew she liked speed.”

Whisper, a 4-year-old miniature Australian cattle dog, is believed to be the first ever base jumping dog. Armed with a GoPro camera, dog and man made the leap together from the 13,020 foot Eiger mountain in Switzerland and caught the whole on video. While many people are impressed with this accomplishment, a spokesperson for Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals claims that Potter is being cruel to his pet:

“Although both the dog and owner land safely, being strapped to a person’s back and dropped by parachute is likely to be a cause of significant stress and fear for the dog.”

But Potter says he tries to think like a parent and consider what is best for his pet. He says that Whisper “begs to come along” and has even been alongside him while rock climbing and tightrope walking. If anything, Potter believes it would be cruel to do otherwise:

“I wonder what’s more cruel – whether leaving your dog at home trapped in the house or in the car for hours of their very short life, or bringing them on six or eight hour hikes up mountains and letting them enjoy the outdoor world.”

Do you think the base jumping dog video shows cruelty or a pet owner who just wants his best friend to enjoy the wingsuit experience as much as he does?