Dog survives 100ft cliff plunge
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A DOG astounded rescuers when it fell an astonishing 100ft from a cliff near Wick — and survived.
Archie the labrador slipped after leaping onto a wall at Castle SinclairGirnigoe just hours after Richard and Lynda Coff, who were looking after him, had arrived for a week’s holiday.
The couple had booked themselves into Seaview House at Noss Head and thought a walk would be a good way to explore the local area.
But their relaxing break quickly descended into a drama when they realised the hapless pooch had fallen and was stuck on a perilous stretch of rocks 100ft below.
Speaking to the John O’Groat Journal, Mr Coff said he and his wife feared the worst when they saw how far the dog had plummeted.
"When we looked over the edge we were just horrified to see how far down he was," he said.
"I was convinced that he would have just splatted against the rocks and all that would be left was a bag of bones.
"We tried desperately to get down to him to retrieve his body, but there was no possible way of reaching him."
Mr Coff ran to the Noss Head lighthouse and spoke to owner Iain Sinclair, who immediately notified the coastguard.
Wick lifeboat was also called out and helped with the rescue effort by flooding the area with light.
Rope technician Tristan Lowe, a member of the coastguard team, was carefully lowered to the dog which, amazingly, was still alive.
He managed to place Archie in an animal harness and then the pair were pulled back up the cliff to safety by the rest of the rescuers.
The dog was taken to a vet in Wick and was found to have a punctured lung and fractured tail.
He was later transferred to a specialist centre in Edinburgh but was well enough to be released on Wednesday, when the couple picked him up and returned home to Wokingham in Berkshire, a few days earlier than planned.
Mr and Mrs Coff said they had been looking after the dog on behalf of their son, who was currently enjoying a sunshine break in Lanzarote.
They revealed he was "relieved and amazed" to hear his pet had survived its ordeal and was looking forward to seeing the animal when he returned.
Mr Coff added: "We still cannot believe that Archie was able to survive falling such a huge height as we were convinced that he was a goner.
"He should have just been a mess of blood and guts as it wasn’t just a slope, it was a straight drop.
"The coastguard and RNLI staff did a heroic job in saving Archie and we will forever be in their debt."
