On October 9th, WASART received a call about a dog named Pogo who was on a steep slope above the Puyallup river. A few days earlier, Pogo had managed to run off from his home. The owner contacted James Branson, of Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue, who located and reached Pogo after extensively searching. However, due to the hazardous terrain at Pogo’s location, it was determined that technical rescue would be needed to bring the dog up to safety. WASART’s Technical Rescue Team responded to help.
WASART arrived on scene and assessed the situation. James and Pogo’s owner had reached Pogo on the steep hillside and secured him with a leash. There were located about 100 feet down a slope, with a cliff below them. The terrain was steep, dense, with loose footing and unsafe to travel back up without technical assistance. A WASART team member was able to traverse to their location and stayed with Pogo, James, and the owner while the rest of the Technical Rescue Team got to work. We determined that the best plan of action would be to set up a steep angle rigging system and lower an attendant with rescue litter down to James and Pogo. Steep angle rigging is the term used in rope rescue when the slope is between 30 to 50 degrees.
We set up a twin tension rope system. The attendant was lowered down the steep hillside to Pogo who appeared alert. After placing a muzzle and harness on Pogo, he was secured in the rescue litter for the ride up. The rope system was changed from a lowering system to a pulley system to haul them both back up to the top. Once at the top of the hillside, the team hand carried the litter over a chain link fence to reach our base location. We unpacked Pogo from the rescue litter and placed him into the owner’s car for the ride home.
The team packed up the ropes and gear, debriefed, and headed home late in the evening.
We are glad to have been able to help Pogo reach safety and back to his owner.
A huge thanks to James Branson with Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue for his efforts and experience in locating Pogo, securing him, and making sure he made it back to safety. To learn more about Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue and the valuable service they provide, visit their website at www.3retrievers.com
WASART is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to helping animal and their owners in times of emergency. There is never a charge for our rescues.
Yuki, Dog Over a Cliff