A one-year-old Toy Australian Shepherd is dead after falling off a cliff while on a hike on Vancouver Island.
Nikki Bigger tells CTV News Vancouver Island she was exploring the island and had been travelling in her van with her dog Frankie. She decided to go for a hike at Stoney Hill Regional Park in Cowichan Valley on Wednesday and met up with another dog owner.
The two had just met that day and their dogs were wrestling over a stick at the top of the hike.
“She thought it was a good idea to take the stick and throw it over the cliff, not over near the trees … she decided to throw it off the cliff,” said Bigger.
That’s when Frankie bolted for the stick and fell over 90 metres off the cliff.
“My last visual was him putting his brakes on to not fall over, obviously it was not fast enough,” she said. “There was three seconds silence and then I heard him yell far away… and then nothing.”
Bigger frantically called for help and firefighters arrived on the scene but could not get down to Frankie. Cowichan Search and Rescue’s rope rescue team rushed out and were able to locate the dog.
“With heavy hearts, we have to tell you that the fall was too great. Sadly, the young dog had no chance to survive the 300 plus feet,” they said in a Facebook post.
She then buried Frankie on Vancouver Island and said goodbye to him.
“I miss his companionship … having a cute, quirky dog around to hug,” she said.
Bigger hopes this story will prevent someone else from ever throwing a stick over a cliff and having another dog hurt.
