Toby is one lucky dog. The 1-year-old English Sheepdog poodle mix fell 300 feet last week, but he’s lived to wag his tale another day.
The McInnes family went hiking with their dog last Thursday at Gosseberry Mesa when they had a huge scare: Toby jumped off a cliff! He fell 150 feet before tumbling down another 150 feet.
For a split second you hope that he landed on something, but I knew there was nothing over there. It was awful. You could hear him sliding and bouncing and yelping.
However, what could have ended in disaster and heartbreak had a happy ending instead. The McInnes family called search and rescue and first responders came to help 75-pound Toby back up the cliff.
When I made the 911 call, the dispatcher couldn’t guarantee anything, that they would come and rescue. So, we sat out on the ledge and waited for about an hour before we got a call from deputy Cashin that said, ‘I have five guys en route.’ And it’s because of their measures that [Toby’s] still here, for sure.
The McInnes family were right to be worried. Deputy Darrell Cashin from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said that dog rescues aren’t a normal part of their job. But they were determined to help poor Toby and felt that they were the most qualified people to help Toby without hurting him further. And though it wasn’t a part of their job, Cashin said seeing Toby reunited with his family was payment enough.
St. George Regional Veterinary Hospital veterinarian Dr. Kelly Houston, meanwhile, has said Toby’s lucky to be alive. Dogs have died after a 20-foot fall, let alone 300.
