He’s one lucky pup!
Firefighters from two different departments pulled off a heart-stopping 90-minute rescue Saturday after a visually impaired senior dog tumbled 300 feet into a ravine in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Los Angeles County Fire Dept Engine 69 was already on the scene when former Hollywood producer David Shapiro happened to be biking past the intersection of Mulholland Drive and Santa Maria Road just after 4:00 p.m.
“They were repelling down (the hillside) when I got there,” he told The Sun.
Shapiro, 74, whipped out his iPhone 11 and began documenting the heroic rescue mission. (Watch here)
He also spoke with the owners of the 15 year-old pooch.
“The had a rope that was tied to their car,” he said. “About 100 feet. (One of the owners) tried going down into the ravine, but he quickly realized it is too steep. There was a lot of undergrowth there so it was very difficult to make passage as they went down the ravine to where the dog was…”
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According to Shapiro, the scary situation began to unfold at the conclusion of a routine family hike.
“The dog was on the leash the entire walk,” he said. “When they got within sight of their car about 50 yards or less from the gate to the park, they took the dog off the leash and kept on walking with the dog (by their side). But the dog doubled back and that is when it got into trouble.”
In an exclusive video obtained by The Sun, one of the owners, who was not identified, tells him: “Poor dog slipped down. He slipped because he doesn’t see well. We were about to go in the car and he turned around and was just sniffing and slipped down.”
Shapiro posted his full, unedited video of the rescue on the social media app Nextdoor.com and instantly received hundreds of comments and reactions.
“I felt that I wanted to be of service to the community,” he explained. “I thought this was something that could interest my neighbors.”
“I didn’t know at the time what was going to be the ending,” he added. “But it was a heartwarming ending.”
“If I were to promote a message of compassion in why I stayed to record the rescue, it would be: love animals; don’t eat them. They are people, too.”
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