Tennessee dog survives 17 hours on cliff ledge, then jumps into rescuers' arms

A trip to a Tennessee farm took a frightening turn when Carl, a 5-year-old Lagotto Romagnolo, spent 17 hours stuck on a slim ledge below a cliff. 

The dog thankfully survived the ordeal, and rescuers said that once they reached him, he wasted no time jumping into their arms.

Here's what to know

According to WPXI, Carl was with his owner, Scott Grissom, at a friend's farm in Dickson County, Tennessee, when he went over a 200-foot cliff and ended up on a ledge about halfway down.

Before that happened, WKRN reported, Carl had been in a creek and running with other dogs as the group headed toward a lookout point. Grissom said that when they were ready to leave, Carl was missing.

"We stood there for 10 minutes calling and calling, calling for him," Grissom told WKRN. "We heard him chatter down the side of the thing and we realized he had fallen off the cliff."

To get Carl out, emergency crews used a high-angle rope rescue system, because the area included a sheer wall of about 70 feet and another steep section. 

The City of Dickson Fire Department posted about this rescue system on Facebook, writing, "These mechanical advantage systems provide the safest means to lower, and raise, rescuers and victims… even our four-legged ones. These are the exact situations our members train for: High risk - low frequency… This is what efficiency and effectiveness look like in real world situations."

Rescuers also used drone footage to identify Carl's exact location and figure out a safe way to reach him. Once they did, as Fire Marshal Mike Osman told WKRN, "He was able to jump right into the arms of our guys. It took very little coaxing to get in there."

The team then placed Carl in a duffel bag and raised him to the top. The rescue involved nine people, including Grissom and the property owner, according to the outlet.

"I didn't know what I'd do without him," Grissom told WKRN. "I thank the Lord I didn't have to face that."

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