Video shows dog's rescue from steep cliff near San Bernardino County river
Video shows the intense moments when a hiker and two good Samaritans jump into action to save a German Shepherd that got stuck on a steep cliff above the West Fork Mohave River in Hesperia on Monday.
Jenny Thompson spotted the dog while she was hiking in the area, begging it to come back down from where it was stuck. She says that she also found a bag of dog food nearby and figured that someone possibly dumped the dog in the area.
She reached out to Kelly from @iloverescue on Instagram, who used her platform to find two brave men who rushed to the area to help.
Mark Primasing, the founder of Victorville-based Iron Paw Rescue, and Aaron Christensen, with SoCal Animal Advocacy Network, came to the dog's rescue, but quickly found themselves in a situation where they needed help themselves.
"I was tethered to my truck with a hundred-foot extension cord, not a paracord, not a chain," Primasing said, recalling the rescue.
When Christensen arrived, a short time after Primasing, he found him up to his chest in water.
"The swift water guys said it was moving 10 mph, which for a river is pretty intense," Christensen said.
He said that he has swift-water rescue experience, so he was ready to lead the charge. However, the water quickly overwhelmed him as well. Primasing said that the soil was very soft underneath their feet and that it felt like quicksand.
"He ended up getting pulled in and then he slipped, and so we both started to go," Christensen said.
Eventually, he was able to grab onto a rock and pull them both ashore, where they were finally able to reach the German Shepherd. Despite how treacherous the rescue was, Primasing said he never doubted their intentions for a second.
Even after reaching the dog, the trio needed rescuing by San Bernardino County's Urban Search and Rescue Team.
Now that they're all back to safety, with the newly-named River, they're hoping to get him back to full health before finding him a loving home.
"You could just tell how grateful he was," Christensen said. "He's an amazing dog."
