180-pound dog rescued by Oakmont volunteer firefighters after falling down cliffside
OAKMONT, Pa. (KDKA) — A 180-pound dog was rescued by the Oakmont Volunteer Fire Department after falling about 50 feet down a cliffside on Wednesday.
Volunteer firemen Joey Luciana, Joey Flanick, John Rickey and Mason Rocicot were getting ready for another day when a call came in just after noon about a man and his small dog who fell down a cliff and were trapped.
But it wasn't a man and his small dog. It was actually a man, two small dogs and one large dog — a very large dog named Jinxy, a mixed breed estimated to weigh 180 pounds. Getting all that dog rescued was a challenge.
"We were able to get the dog to lay down and packaged it up like it was a human and tied it down, strapped the dog in and then we hooked our rope up to him and then we started our climb," Luciana said.
Jinxy was secured in what's known as a stokes basket, one they typically use for humans. Then the four firemen pulled the 180-pound dog up.
"We had our rope tied off to one of those trees and then we had a guy up top who was kind of pulling the rope as we were lifting the dog up," Luciana said.
The man, his two small dogs and Jinxy were all successfully rescued. Jinxy was checked out at the vet, and he's OK now thanks to the Oakmont Volunteer Fire Department.
The volunteer fire department has had three rescues like this in the last month, including one when a woman and her dog fell over a cliff.