A dog named ‘Cliff’ — WLOS details rescue of pit-bull mix from cliffside mine in Mitchell Co.

From WLOS

Kevin Hughes and Rusty Brannigan are both dog lovers. Neither had to think twice when they got the call around 6:30pm Thursday to rescue a dog stranded on a cliff for at least two days in Emerald Mines in rural Mitchell county.

“It came to us as a technical rescue,” said Hughes. “When we got there we could see he was very anxious, He didn’t know what to do.” The two men are volunteer Battallion Chiefs for Parkway Fire and Rescue. Each has extensive training in rappelling. It’s what they would have to do to save the pit-bull mix.

“People had heard the dog barking and they thought it was coming from inside the cave,” said Chrissy K. McVay, a volunteer with Mitchell County’s Animal Rescue. The men first rappelled sixty feet into the mine. That was a mid-point in the mine where the dog was stranded. Once they got there they spent about fifteen minutes calming the animal down. “Once we started talking to him he began to wag his tail,” said Brannigan. …

After the dog was safely brought out and taken to Mitchell County’s Animal Rescue shelter, the group had to come up with his name. “His name is Cliff,” said Hughes. “We got him off a cliff so that makes sense,” said Brannigan. The dog is about six-years-old and has a very sweet disposition. He’s calmed down from his ordeal and slowly is starting to wag his tail. His only injury is a small scrape on his back leg. Other than that and one harrowing evening rappelling down a cliff, the pup is ready for a new home. This is actually the second dog in two years that the Parkway crew has rescued from the same mine. …

Read More at: http://wlos.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wlos_dog-rescued-cliff-11711.shtml

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About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams

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