Volunteers with a Cochise County search and rescue team rescued a dog who was stuck on a cliff near Bisbee after he got away from his owner, authorities said.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office was contacted late Wednesday morning about a dog rescue on Juniper Flats, in the Mule Mountains west of Bisbee, said Carol Capas, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.
Animal control officers with the sheriff's office went to the area to see if they'd be able to retrieve the dog, who was stuck on a cliff near the Juniper Flats radio towers.
The dog's owner told officials that she and her dog had hiked down to an overlook so that she could draw some sketches and while she was drawing, the dog got away and ended up partway down a cliff, Capas said.
The woman was unable to reach her dog due to the steep terrain and decided not to attempt the rescue on her own.
Cochise County Search and Rescue volunteers were called out and developed a plan to retrieve the dog using a rope rescue system. Because of previous dog rescues and the use of SAR dogs, volunteers had a K9 rescue harness in their kit. Two volunteers, one of which was a vet tech, were lowered down to the dog, Capas said.
The vet tech had brought a sedative in case the dog became panicked or aggressive, but once they reached him, he began licking their faces and wagging his tail, so no sedative was used.
Volunteers strapped the dog into the harness and lowered him roughly 100 feet down the cliff where he was reunited- uninjured- with his owner.
