Dog survives fall off 150-foot cliff, rescued by Oregon Humane Society volunteers

Kenny is lucky to be alive.

Around 2 p.m. on October 16, the 2-year-old husky-shepherd mix broke free from his leash to chase a squirrel along a Columbia River Gorge trail. He chased the squirrel over the cliff ledge and fell into the creek 150 feet below.

The man walking the dog, Kenny’s owner’s roommate, immediately called 911, unsure if the dog had survived the fall.

Remarkably, he had.

A ten-person Oregon Humane Society Technical Animal Rescue team (OHSTAR) arrived at the trail shortly after and began a two-hour hike with a “ton of rescue gear” to get to the cliff where Kenny had fallen.

Using a mechanical rope system, the team lowered OHSTAR rescuer Jennifer Stengel into the canyon to secure Kenny. It was well after midnight by the time she harnessed the injured dog, who was wedged into a crevice, and the two of them were hoisted back up the cliff together.

Kenny was finally rescued about 12 hours after he fell off the cliff.

“I never felt at risk,” Stengel told TODAY. “I knew that I was securely attached to our safety system. I knew what to do if I slipped. I had him attached to me the whole time once I got down to him. It was more a matter of just trying to get him safely raised, as quickly as possible.”

Mark Winans, Kenny’s owner, had nothing but praise for the rescue team.

“There’s a lot people who wouldn’t have done it, because of how dangerous the conditions were,” Winans said. “They were extremely courageous to basically put their own lives on the line to get to him. It would have been really easy to say, ‘Let’s wait until morning, and come back when it’s daylight,’ but they did it [that night]. … Everybody was kind of like, ‘There’s no way he should have survived that fall.’ It’s a miracle.”

Kenny suffered broken bones in his front legs and a punctured lung. After undergoing hours of complicated surgery at DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital in Portland, the canine is now expected to make a full recovery.

On Facebook, Winans updated friends on Kenny’s recovery — and shared photos of the dog “rocking his brand new casts.”

Since Kenny’s story of survival made headlines, Winans’ Give Forward fundraising page to help cover Kenny’s medical expenses has surpassed its original goal of $10,000. With more than $12,000 raised so far, Winans plans to donate all surplus funds to the Oregon Humane Society, which is funded entirely by donations.

“I really want to give credit to them and help with their fundraising efforts,” Winans told TODAY.

(Photos via Mark Winans/Facebook)