Dog Trapped By River

Thanks to the Daily Inter Lake for this happy news!

Dog rescued from riverside cliff

By CHERY SABOL

The Daily Inter Lake

Cold, scared and skinny, a dog was rescued Friday afternoon from a cliff above Flathead River near Hungry Horse.

Animal control officer Jennifer Benware was ecstatic.

Its the first time I’ve ever experienced this. It was just so great.

Someone reported the mastiff-mix at the bottom of a cliff near the river. The dog was stranded on an outcropping about 3 feet high and the only way out was into the icy water.

A couple tried to rescue the dog in a canoe, but she wouldn’t go to them.

Its dangerous out there, Benware said, and the couple wisely gave up and called the animal shelter.

Benware went out on Gamma Road and saw the helpless dog. She called the Flathead County Sheriffs Office dispatch, which contacted deputy Jordan White who oversees search-and-rescue teams in the Flathead. White and a volunteer were prepared for some cliff climbing.

But the dog was approachable with a short scramble from the water level. Benware and fellow-officer Carl Talsma got a ride in a North Valley Search and Rescue boat. Benware found the dog very sweet, very quiet and scared, and emaciated.

I got on a rock to talk to her softly, Benware said.

Then she slipped a leash around the animals neck and coaxed her into the boat.

I named her Chloe, Benware said.

She took the dog to the animal shelter where she ate like a pig.

Chloe wasn’t revealing how she wound up in her predicament.

That’s a good question, Benware said. I have no idea how she got there.

The rescued dog will convalesce at the shelter, where she will be available for adoption on Thursday, Benware said.