Hawke’s Bay firefighters rescue missing dog from bottom of 40 metre cliff

Kia was returned to her home after several days stuck at the bottom of a cliff thanks to the efforts of Hawke’s Bay firefighters and their specialised drone team.Photo / Supplied

A dog was returned to its home after several days stuck at the bottom of a cliff thanks to the efforts of Hawke’s Bay firefighters and their specialised drone team.

The owners of farm dog Kia contacted Fire and Emergency New Zealand for assistance on Tuesday afternoon after she had gone missing and it was suspected she had fallen about 40 metres down a cliff and into a ravine on their Maraekakaho property.

FENZ Hawke’s Bay Acting District Manager Glen Varcoe said the owners told FENZ they believed Kia had been stuck down there for about three or four days.

“They went down and had a look themselves, not down the cliff, but they couldn’t find the dog, couldn’t hear it, so they contacted us to see if we were able to provide some assistance,” Varcoe said.

“The morning of their call, they could hear the dog and they believed it had fallen under a tree on a ledge.”

He said they sent an available rescue team from Hastings alone with their drones, which helped to locate the dog and a clear path to rescue her before the rescue team went down to retrieve her.

He said it didn’t take long to rescue Kia, since they had a good idea of where she was, and she was happily reunited with her family in relatively good condition.