By Jennifer Langston
Herald Writer
EDMONDS — Firefighters rescued a 58-year-old woman and her golden retriever from the side of a steep ravine after they had cartwheeled 90 feet down an embankment.
Neither was seriously injured.
Gillian Lewis says her 11-year-old dog Duke doesn’t chase squirrels much anymore. So it was odd when he suddenly took off during an afternoon walk in her north Edmonds neighborhood.
She watched him disappear over the lip of a steep, loose slope above 76th Avenue W. that overlooks Puget Sound.
"He’s elderly, and he doesn’t usually get excited about things," said Lewis from her home Wednesday night. "It must have been a coyote or something else. I don’t think he would have worried himself with just a squirrel."
Lewis found the dog stuck about 15 feet down the embankment, unable to get back up the hill because of his bad hips and hind legs.
She tied off the leash to a tree and scampered down after him, never thinking that she wouldn’t be able to get back up, either. But after abandoning the leash to reach him, the loose soil just kept giving way underneath her every time she tried to climb back up.
She stayed there for about 30 minutes, trying to figure out what to do. When she realized darkness was approaching and the pair wasn’t making much progress, she started yelling. After about 45 minutes, someone noticed her perched precariously above the houses down below.
As the fire engines were arriving, the fern holding Lewis and Duke gave way. They fell head over heels together down the 45-degree slope, coming to rest about 90 feet below the top of the ravine.
About 18 rescue technicians and firefighters from the Lynnwood and Edmonds fire departments responded to the call at 3:45 p.m. Those firefighters have special training in rope work and other rescue techniques.
After setting up an anchor and ropes, three firefighters rappelled down to Lewis and Duke. Because the slope was so steep, they decided to put Lewis in a rescue litter.
Then firefighters at the top of the ravine hauled all four people and the sled back up to stable ground, said Lt. Bob Jeske with the Lynnwood Fire Department.
After making sure Lewis was safe, they went down the cliff again. "Once she was able to hobble out, then we did the evolution one more time to pull out Duke," Jeske said.
Lewis said that aside from some bruises to her body and ego, she seems fine. And Duke doesn’t appear much worse for the wear, either.
"It was an excellent end," she said. "After they hauled him up in the sled, he walked home. He’s been sound asleep ever since."
You can call Herald Writer Jennifer Langston at 425-339-3452 or send e-mail to langston@heraldnet.com.
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