Sparta-White County Rescue Squad retrieves dog from bluff

On May 11, 2023, at approximately, 6:15 p.m., Sparta-White County Rescue Squad Rope Rescue Team responded to Fancher Falls for a dog rescue.

Command quickly arrived on the scene and found that a man had gone over the bluff line in an attempt to retrieve the dog. The dog was approximately 45 feet over, and the closest the man could get was a ledge about 15 feet above the dog.

The man decided it was too dangerous to continue with his efforts and made his way back to the top. A few minutes later the Rescue Team arrived on the scene and set up a rope system to lower a member of the team over the bluff, with a small animal harness to assist in retrieval of the dog.

One of Sparta-White County Rescue Squad’s newest members, Jake Long, made contact with the dog and was able to apply the safety harness without incident. When “Rescue Jake” gave the all-clear signal to raise, the rope crew on top had already switched over to a 3-to-1 mechanical advantage haul system and started bringing the dog, which was connected to Rescue Jake’s harness, up to the top of the bluff, out of the 180-foot gorge.

“Please do not go over a bluff after a pet,” Charlie Tollison, Sparta-White County Rescue Squad assistant chief, said. “Call for Rescue. We would much rather assist you than to have to respond to an actual call for a rescue or recovery of you. As always, thank you for your support.”