Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara City Fire Department
Santa Barbara City Firefighters were dispatched to the Douglas Family Preserve on Santa Barbara’s Mesa for a reported dog over the side. The response included two engines one truck company, and a Battalion Chief. Firefighters contacted the owner who directed the rescuers to the dog’s last known location. The dog had been walking off leash.
Firefighters set up a rope rescue system and lowered one firefighter equipped with a special dog harness down to the dog. The dog was approximately 30 feet below and the angle was steep. Firefighters were also positioned on the beach to coordinate the rescue and direct the rescuer to the dog.
The dog was recovered and reunited with the owner within 15 minutes.
The Santa Barbara City Fire Department would like to recognize the great restraint by the citizen in not attempting to rescue the dog. The owner called 911 and firefighters were able to safely perform the rescue. Cliffs are dangerous and you should try to keep your pets and yourself away from the edge.
“Cliffs are dangerous and you should try to keep your pets and yourself away from the edge.”.
And you should foot the bill when you do not and have the F.D. expand expensive resources to rescue the pet you did not keep control of.
100% the owners fault for having their dog off leash near a cliff. I’m so sick of hearing about dogs falling over that cliff
FONDOFSB – why should anyone have to pay the FD for their services? That is their JOB. They rescue people and yes, animals, sometimes. It is literally part of their trained profession. These comments saying people should have to pay the fire dept or other rescue services are absurd.
SBFD uses these calls for training for those who don’t know they train on a steady basis at a training tower on South Olive
I love Douglas Preserve and take my dog there all the time. Such an awesome social place for the dogs but have I been seeing this correctly??…I feel like I’ve seen stories of more dogs going off that cliff in the last several weeks than ever before. Are the dogs going just as crazy with Covid? Seems like it might be time to put a fence there unfortunately.
It’s ludicrous to suggest that dogs, and people, fall off the edge of a cliff if not restrained from doing so. I would bet dogs go over the edge chasing something thrown to them or for them by their hooman.
I’m not sure people should have to pay for it, but 6976 that’s a pretty weak argument. Why should people pay someone to do their job? Your doctor’s trained profession is doctoring, but he still charges you for visits. That’s the point.
If you start a brush fire they will fine you for it, even if it’s an accident.
These incidents provide training opportunities, and are better than having to rescue a person and a dog because someone couldn’t/wouldn’t pay and tried to do it themselves. Sure, they should have been more careful to begin with, but welcome to Earth.
FONDOFSB there is no was the FD should be charging. What does this actually cost the fire department? All the equipment is reusable and they are always manning the stations. It doesn’t cost tax payers anything more
Cute dog, brave fireman, no harm, no foul, try to be more kind.
Why is there not a fence along the cliff?
No more off-leash use along cliff edge. Best be grateful now that you have the rest of the giant park to use.
Why no fence? Because whenever it was suggested people protested vociferously that it should be kept natural, and that meant that it was natural for some dogs to fall to their deaths! It doesn’t have to be like the chain link fence at Shoreline Park, but there needs to be a barrier along the open sections of the cliff.
OH. MY. GOD.
Build a fence? Have you ever heard of a flippin’ leash?!?! They are literally made for the purpose of protecting your dog. Or take your dog down on the beach where it can’t fall off the cliff. Or just whine and complain and expect the world to keep revolving around you.
Of all the dogs that go there, very few end up on the cliffs. Unless the fire department thinks they can’t respond to these calls because they have fires to fight, then it seems like it is working okay. Maybe some dog owners can buy some rope and start rescuing the dogs themselves if the fire dept no longer can do this.
SBSBSBSBSB. Firefighters are not always “manning the station” if they are away rescuing dogs that were neglected by their masters!