San Francisco dog wags tail and kisses rescuers after being stuck on cliffside

SAN FRANCISCO -- A favored canine fell disconnected an oceanside bluff successful San Francisco and spent much than 20 minutes clinging to a constrictive ledge until firefighters came to its rescue, officials said.

The brownish and achromatic canine was playing with different canine connected Tuesday astatine Fort Funston, a coastal parkland with steep bluffs that tin driblet up to 200 feet to the formation below. The dog, which was not acquainted with the area, slipped connected immoderate vegetation, mislaid its traction and fell implicit the cliff, said Rescue Captain Samuel Menchaca of the San Francisco Fire Department.

Firefighters sent a squad to retrieve the canine, which had recovered impermanent refuge connected a ledge astir 40 feet beneath the apical of the cliff. A San Francisco constabulary drone relation who happened to beryllium successful the country heard the exigency telephone spell retired and captured an aerial presumption of the dog's location, which helium relayed to firefighters.

Once they knew wherever to find the animal, 1 rescuer rappelled down the sandy cliff face, attached a harness to the 40-pound canine and held it arsenic they were pulled up together.

"He was happy. He knew helium got rescued. He was wagging his tail. He was giving everyone kisses," Menchaca said.

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Rescuers reunited the canine with its owner.

Menchaca urged radical to enactment connected marked paths, support their dogs connected leashes and their tiny children close.

"You whitethorn deliberation that it's a small berm oregon a hill, but it is simply a important drop," helium said.

Firefighters unluckily person to rescue radical a batch successful this area, Menchaca said. They bid for it, and volition ever beryllium there, but they don't privation radical to get hurt, helium said.

"One of the champion ways to not get wounded connected these cliffs and our beauteous seaside parts of San Francisco is to enactment connected the marked paths," helium said.