Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
EmailIphone Application    Posted: 27th April 2022
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.
Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

RNLI rescues spaniel stuck in cove
Pictured: Woody at Port Isaac RNLI boathouse, safe after his dramatic rescue.

Woody fell off a cliff, and had been missing for three days. 

A sprocker spaniel has been rescued by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), after falling  off a cliff in north Cornwall and going missing for three days.

Woody, a nine-month-old sprocker spaniel, was out on a coastal walk with his owners when he disappeared from their view. After searching for more then 24 hours, Woody's owners were incredibly distressed, unsure if they would ever see him again. 

Jon, Woody's owner, said: “We felt sick to the stomach going back without Woody. Then we had a phone call telling us that a dog had been heard barking down a cliff.

“Words can’t express how delighted and overjoyed we were.”

After falling 150ft down the cliff, and having been missing for three days, Woody was eventually discovered when a walker heard him barking. A farmer local to the area kindly used a drone to locate Woody, and found him inside a steep-sided cove.

The farmer notified the RNLI, and Port Isaac's RNLI volunteer crew navigated their D class inshore lifeboat through a large swell to rescue Woody. 

RNLI crew member Ben Spicer commented on the rescue: “Woody gave us a good run around to start off with as he was understandably distressed, cold, tired and hungry.

“It felt fantastic to get Woody out of there and back to his owners. I can only imagine how horrid it must have felt not knowing his circumstances over those days

“It was a great team effort with multiple organisations involved, Cornwall Search Dogs, DogLost Cornwall, Boscastle CG and the RNLI all working harmoniously and achieving a positive outcome. It could have very easily gone the other way for Woody.” 

Jon thanked the crew who saved Woody: “The whole thing is a miracle: it’s amazing that he survived the fall, the couple of nights alone and that he was rescued. How on earth?

“We can’t thank the RNLI crew enough. We’ve always donated to the RNLI. I’ve been a Shoreline member for years and when my wife’s father died, we donated as well, never knowing that we would need them to rescue our dog.”

Image (C) RNLI.

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Cold-water dip to raise funds for Vetlife

News Story 1
 The veterinary mental health charity Vetlife is inviting the veterinary community to join it for a sponsored cold-water dip.

The event will take place at Walpole Bay, Margate, on 17 May during Mental Health Awareness Week. Participants of all abilities can join in the challenge and are advised to bring a towel, a hot drink, a snack, and warm clothes to get changed into afterwards.

Those taking part are being asked to try to raise £100 each to support the work of the charity.

Details about how to take part can be found here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue low vector period ends

In an update to its bluetongue guidance, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the seasonal low vector period for the disease has ended.

With winter over, Defra is planning for a possible increase in cases as midges become more active. It has warned that farms along the east coast of England from Norfolk to Kent, and along the south coast from Kent to Devon, are at highest risk from infected midges blown over from northern Europe.

Since the virus was detected in England in November 2023, there have been 126 confirmed cases. The most recent case to be confirmed was on 1 March 2024.

Farmers are asked to continue to frequently monitor their livestock and ensure their animals and land are registered with the Animal and Plant Health Agency.