A Castlegar family is rejoicing after their dog who had been missing for more than three weeks was rescued by rock climbers.
Marissa Balahura had given up hope that her dog, Stellar, would be found alive.
Almost every day, Balahura or one of her friends or family members hiked up the Brilliant Overlook Trail near Castlegar looking for the 10-year-old pointer cross, since she had gotten lost on March 10 during a hike the family frequently makes.
On April 2, she trekked up the trail one more time 乌鸦传媒� this time looking for her dog乌鸦传媒檚 remains.
But then her cell phone rang. The voice on the line asked, 乌鸦传媒淎re you missing a dog?乌鸦传媒�
The call was coming from a pair of rock climbers on a cliff known as the Brilliant Bluffs Megawatt Route in the area where Stellar had gone missing. They had discovered her stranded on a rock ledge about 200 metres above the ground and about 40 metres down from the top of the cliff.
Jared Smith and Hannah Stephan were surprised when they came across a dog towards the end of their climb.
Smith first tried to cradle the dog in his arms while making his way up, but Stellar was nervous and he was afraid she might try to wriggle free.
Stephan then came up with the idea of trying to put the dog in their rope bag 乌鸦传媒� a large Ikea shopping bag 乌鸦传媒� they had in their pack.
乌鸦传媒淚 put the dog in the rope bag,乌鸦传媒� explained Smith. 乌鸦传媒淧retty much it was just us, inching this dog up by climbing a bit, inching the dog up. With Hannah holding the rope, I乌鸦传媒檇 climb up a bit up more, then push the dog up.乌鸦传媒�
As they were climbing, the dog乌鸦传媒檚 nails pierced through the bag.
乌鸦传媒淚 was scared the bag was going to rip open, so I pretty much supported the bag with one arm while trying to climb up with the other one,乌鸦传媒� added Smith.
The climb is a fully-bolted eight-pitch sport route, and Smith said they were tied in and safe, so he wasn乌鸦传媒檛 too nervous about falling.
He was amazed by the stroke of luck that put them in the same place as the dog, being able to read the phone number on the dog乌鸦传媒檚 collar that was badly worn, and then discovering the dog乌鸦传媒檚 owner was already nearby.
The pair had also originally planned their climb for later in the week, but a look at the weather forecast moved their plans forward.
RELATED:
乌鸦传媒淚f the rain hadn乌鸦传媒檛 been coming and we missed our chance, I don乌鸦传媒檛 think we would have found a live dog,乌鸦传媒� said Smith.
When they finally reached the top, Balahura was there waiting for them.
乌鸦传媒淚 was able to be there when they pulled her over the edge,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚 was sobbing.
乌鸦传媒淭hey totally saved her life. The way she looks now 乌鸦传媒� I can乌鸦传媒檛 imagine how much longer she could have lasted up there.乌鸦传媒�
A vet confirmed that other than being emaciated and covered with ticks, Stellar was okay.
Balahura is looking forward to the day when her constant companion can once again join her hiking, trail running, biking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing.
betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
Like us on and follow us on
