Ollie the Dog is Ok after 60-Ft. Cliff Dive

A 2½-year-old terrier certainly had an eventful vacation at Newquay last week.  Unbeknownst to his owners, Ollie the dog decided to test his own aerodynamics over a 60-foot coastal cliff.

Owners Debbie and Peter Burnell from Bristol had taken their dogs for a walk just after arriving at Wine Cove, slightly north of Lusty Glaze Beach.  Peter Burnell recounts, "Within an hour of us arriving we took our three dogs for a walk. When we called them, two came running back and one didn't. Then someone pointed to him on the rocks."

Apparently the enthusiastic Jack Russell-Westie had been exploring the terrain when he slipped and went over the edge.

Mr. Burnell continues, "I scrambled down the rocks. It took me about four minutes to get down. When I got to him he was on a rock bleeding. It must have been 60-ft down."

Meanwhile, Mrs. Burnell ran back to the Glendorgal hotel whose staff alerted the RSPCA and the coastguard.  Someone from the hotel was able to rush Ollie to the Duchy Veterinary Hospital, where the dog was examined by Dr. Michael King.

To their absolute astonishment, Ollie hadn't broken a single bone, nor sustained any other critical injuries.  Mr. Burnell recalls, "We were very relieved. My wife was distraught and I was cracking up. The dogs are part of the family."

Dr. King reports, "He was very shocked and concussed when he came in, but we had him on a drip for 24 hours and apart from a few bruises he was fine. He was very lucky to escape a fall like that."

Ollie is the second dog this year to make newspaper headlines around the UK for such amazing acrobatics.  In January, Bruiser the 15-year-old "Miracle Dog" leaped from a 200-ft. cliff near Lulworth Cove, rebounded off the rocks and sustained only minor cuts and a bruise.

Explains Dr. King, "They get excited chasing seagulls, particularly dogs not from Cornwall. They keep running and don't expect the land to just come to an end."  He indicated that they receive up to five such cases a year in the area.

Though it's the first time this has happened at the Glendorgal Hotel, their staff has begun passing out information to dog owners, warning them about the hazards of doggie cliff-diving.

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