Dog falls to death over county cliff

11:10am Friday 29th August 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

Coastguards are again warning the public to keep their dogs on leads, after a couple on holiday lost their beloved otter hound over a cliff near Freshwater West yesterday (Thursday).

The couple, from the Midlands, were walking with the nine-year-old dog when it ran away from them and disappeared over the cliff.

The elderly animal was deaf and could not hear them calling for it to come back.

Milford Haven coastguard HQ received a call from the distressed female owner at around 6.23 yesterday evening. They tasked Castle Martin and St Govans coastguards to the cliff.

Angle lifeboat, which was returning to station from another shout, searched the base of the cliffs and recovered the body of the dog, which had died from injuries sustained in the fall.

The body of the dog was returned to its owners who were very upset by the incident.

A coastguard spokesman reiterated the need to keep animals on leads near the cliff top.

"You need to treat a dog the same way as you would a small child," she said. "You wouldn't let a small child run around freely on a cliff top, in the same way you shouldn't allow your dog to do so.

It is important to keep dogs on leads at all times when walking the coast path."