Dog reported safe after plunge over Alexandra Falls

A dog that fell over the South Slave’s Alexandra Falls on Saturday was reported safe a day later, just as anxious residents prepared a fresh rescue bid.

Two video clips published to Facebook on Saturday showed the dog entering the water and being swept to within inches of the edge of Alexandra Falls, then walking along the riverbank at the foot of the falls.

By Sunday afternoon, visitors to the falls had reported the dog to be still stranded by the river, which is separated from the nearby tourist trail by a sheer drop.

A rescue operation was planned involving a person rappelling down to the dog, attempting to attach a harness, then being hauled back up to the trail.

By 5:15pm, before that operation had commenced, a resident identifying themselves as a friend of the owner said the dog had been recovered safely.

Don Campbell told Cabin Radio he and Collin Woehl had hiked in from Louise Falls to reach the dog, who was found “at the base of the falls and in good health.” The two had brought kibble with them.

“We put a lifejacket on him and walked him back the way we came,” Campbell said. The dog and his owner are now reunited, he added.

Alexandra Falls, around 10 km south of Enterprise, is a 32-metre (105-foot) drop.