Dog rescue sweet relief for owners

11 February 2015

A dog was reunited with his owners after more than eight hours at the bottom of a ravine this week thanks to a bunch of Civil Defence volunteers who came to the rescue.

Gus, a 12-and-a-half year old Staffordshire bull terrier, was out with his owner Janice Drinkrow and the family's other two dogs in Owen Delany Park at 9am on Monday when he went missing. The three dogs ran off together but only two returned.

He just sort of vanished, Mrs Drinkrow said. Despite repeated calls, Gus was not found.

Mrs Drinkrow said she contacted her husband Dennis, and the family returned to the vicinity where Gus went missing. Eventually they heard whimpering coming from the bottom of a ravine and realised Gus had fallen down the 25m cliff.

The Drinkrows called police, who got in touch with Taupō District Council's Civil Defence Response team.

Emergency management officer Roger Nelson said two volunteers abseiled down the cliff to recover Gus while the another three worked the ropes at the top for support.

The whole operation took about an hour and a very relieved Gus was hoisted to the top with the use of a sling.

We had a fair bit of blackberry to cut through to be able to get down there but it was all worth it when we saw a pretty tired old dog looking up at us, Mr Nelson said. I took a bottle of water down with me to give him a drink and he lapped that up. I think he was very grateful to be found.

Mr Nelson said the dog was very well behaved during his ordeal and it was great to be able to reunite him with his owners. It's the best part of the job - being able to make people happy with the tools and the skills we have, Mr Nelson said.

Gus was a bit stiff in the hours after he was rescued, but physically unharmed, the Drinkrows said.

Mr Drinkrow said he was thrilled with the response from the Civil Defence team and he couldn't thank them enough. It was excellent - they did a good job, all of them, he said.

Anyone interested in becoming a Civil Defence volunteer should contact Taupō District Council.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lisa Nairne Communications Manager 07 376 0762 027 839 8410

Vicki Waterhouse Communications Advisor 07 376 0718 027 484 2549

Taupō District Council

www.taupo.govt.nz