Golden Retriever Traumatized by Fall Off Oregon Coast Cliff, Rescued by Coast Guard Helicopter - Updated

Published 1/04/24 at 6:25 p.m. - Updated 1/04/24 at 7:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – [UPDATED WITH SECOND INCIDENT] ---- The U.S. Coast Guard came to the rescue of a bloodied and clearly traumatized golden retriever on New Year's Day after it fell some 300 feet off a hiking trail on the north Oregon coast. (Photo USCG)

There was also another golden retriever rescue incident documented by Oregon Coast Beach Connection several years ago.

The helicopter and its crew were sent out of the Astoria USCG station, responding to an area just beneath a steep cliff of Ecola State Park, next to Cannon Beach. The doggo, named Leo, needed retrieving himself and was visibly injured. Upon landing the aircraft, personnel gave Leo back to his owners, and the dog had to spend time at the vet getting treated.

The dog belongs to a couple from Forest Grove, who told the USCG: “Leo stayed overnight at an emergency vet. He has a few cuts and bruises. All things considered, he is doing good. We are so thankful he is alive and expected to recover."

The USCG said it was an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew that conducted the mission.

Owners said Leo was last seen rushing past other family members on the trail and then disappeared. They soon spotted him below at this extremely dangerous spot. The tide was coming in, which also worried Leo's owners.

This section of the north Oregon coast is notorious for hikers slipping off the cliffs. It's also prone to landslides, and just months after a particularly massive landslide in the '60s, a young girl went missing for a few days in the debris. See Intense History at Oregon Coast's Ecola State Park: Murder, Landslide, Explorers

Photo USCG

Oregon Coast Beach Connection encountered another golden retriever rescue in Depoe Bay a decade ago. Photos below show the wet and traumatized doggo, which according to owners had chased a bouncing ball over the sea wall and wound up in the rough surf.

Bystanders nearby managed to rescue the goldie, although there were some tense moments as the owner sobbed on the bridge, watching a few attempts before they finally succeeded.

According to editor Andre' Hagestedt, who photographed the near-tragedy:

"Some stranger informs me that the woman's dog went bounding after its ball, and when the ball flew over the seawall – not far from the spouting horn – he went sailing over the wall, crashing into the rocks below and sliding into the ocean. This, as is typical of Depoe Bay, was no calm surf. It was broiling and somewhat angry, and all I could see were big waves slamming onto jagged rocks."

No dog was visible at that moment.

Within a minute or less, there were four people on the pathway below, one holding a big, soaking wet golden retriever. They're an adorable breed, full of crazed energy and plenty of impulse, and it's not hard to understand how the dog would hop over an obstacle chasing its ball. The problem was a gnarly ocean was waiting for him.

Oregon Coast Beach Connection

Somehow, somebody fished him out, and this is the aftermath. The poor litlle guy was a wreck. What you can't see here is he was shaking uncontrollably.

Also in Oregon Coast Rescue News:

Pacific City: N. Oregon Coast Rescuers Use Drone to Assist Surfer at Cape Kiwanda - Both surfers ended up safe on land. Various rescue agencies responded to Cape Kiwanda Beach at Pacific City on Tuesday at around 10:23 a.m., according to the Tillamook County Sheriff's office (TCSO). 911 operators had received a call that two surfers were getting pushed northward by swells and wind, bringing them too close to the rocks of Cape Kiwanda.

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