Labradoodle Gracie’s 200-Foot Fall: Pup Survives Remarkable Drop

Labradoodle Gracie’s 200-foot fall left her owner thinking she surely had died, but the young puppy managed to survive. The dog was hiking along with her owner when she fell and a rescue team managed to save her.

As KPTV shares, Michelle Simmons and her labradoodle Gracie were hiking along the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. They were part of a large hiking group that included Gracie and another dog. It seems that the two dogs started playing together on the trail when Gracie went down an embankment and over the side of a cliff.

After Gracie fell, the group could hear her rolling and a yelp, and then they heard nothing more. They thought she had died, and many in the group were crying. They called authorities, but made a makeshift memorial for the 1-year-old pup and said their goodbyes.

Just as the hiking group, including Gracie’s owner, prepared to leave, KATU notes that a passing hiker yelled that they had spotted the pup, and she was still alive. An Oregon Humane Society 10-person rescue team came and worked to rescue labradoodle Gracie after her 200-foot fall.

It took the rescue team an hour to hike up to where they needed to begin the drop to get the dog. A volunteer was lowered down the cliff, and secured Gracie in a rescue harness. Hours after she first fell, Gracie was able to hike out of the area on her own with only a few bruises and scratches. X-rays showed no serious injuries.

By the end of the night, labradoodle Gracie’s 200-foot fall left her with a lot of attention and it sounds as if she ate it up. She was said to be wagging her tail, eating, and barking, and her owner was obviously relieved and thrilled.

The search was carried out by the OHS Technical Rescue Team, and their efforts are fully supported by donations. After Gracie’s rescue, team leader Rene Pizzo noted the importance of keeping pets on leashes at all times in areas such as the Columbia Gorge. While the dogs may have been playful and enjoying the hike at the time, obviously things took a dangerous turn, and the puppy is lucky to have emerged unscathed.

It certainly isn’t unusual to hear of heroic and stunning dog rescue stories, such as the springer spaniel incident reported previously by the Inquisitr. Most would admit, however, that labradoodle Gracie’s 200-foot fall and remarkable survival is a stunning ending to a potentially heartbreaking incident.

[Image via KATU]