Whippet Plummets 300ft and Cuts Lip

Friday, June 29, 2001 - UK

DORSET — This time of year, I'm sure the coastal cliffs of the UK are standing scenic and tranquil in their glory.  Though I've been there only once, I recall how the land's profile radiated an indescribable combination of both savagery and modesty, making it quite possibly the only place on Earth where one can feel terrified and cozy at the same time.

On the Channel side, one can strain one's eyes and halfway see, halfway imagine the outline of France rising from atop the horizon, and straining further...

...What ho!  What is this I descry descending from above?

Take cover!  It's another incoming British dog-bomb!  (Yes, folks; it's time for #7 strange-but-true, projectile pooch story.  It's been a while since the last one, but apparently they're still at it.)

Witnesses were horrified last Saturday to see a small, black Whippet/Collie mix take a flying leap over Worbarrow Bay, plummet some 200ft before impact, then bounce and roll another 100ft down the bank before coming to a dead stop.

Apparently he had chased a rabbit exactly one step too far.  Presuming the little cannonball to be dead, people at the scene (who had been walking the dog) went to break the news to the dog's family, and then all began to search for the body, reports the Bournemouth Daily Echo.

Now, as most searches generally proceed from the assumption that the body stays put, the searchers were unsuccessful at locating their target in the vicinity, while in fact, the body had found its way to a comfortable little nook around the corner where range warden Graham Patten happened by unawares.

"It was such a sweet dog and all he had was a tiny cut on his lip and a few bruises," says Mr. Patten who took the mutt home with him overnight while attempting to locate the dog's family.  

(Photo: Demonstrating the distinctive, aerodynamic earflaps of the Whippet mix, this is Macy who is looking for a home, care of Noah's Arc in Dandridge, Tennessee.)

Warden Patten goes on to summarize the happy ending to the story:

"We managed to find his owners and there was a very tearful reunion with them the next day.

"They thought he had died and were very upset at not being able to recover his body for a burial.  They just couldn't believe he had survived.

"The cliff is about 400ft high and his fall was the equivalent of a human jumping off the Post Office Tower. You would never believe it normally—it's amazing."

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