Two-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback fell from the top of a 30-foot cliff to a ledge below, officials said.
MONTCLAIR -- To an 80-pound, two-and-a-half year old Rhodesian Ridgeback, a rocky cliff in Mills Reservation probably looked like a big playground. That is, until he slipped and was stuck on a ledge jutting out from the cliff.
Obi was walking with his owner, Beth Rolland, of Cedar Grove, at about 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 31 when he pulled away and ran off. After Beth, her husband Grey, and two concerned trail runners searched for Obi, they heard his whining from a rocky area in the reservation.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback on the cliff's ledge. (Courtesy Beth Rolland)"We were looking for him, and all of the sudden, one of the trail runners saw him up on a ledge, wagging his tail," Grey Rolland said in a phone interview. "He had to have fallen from the top (of the 30-foot cliff)," but was about 10 to 15 feet above the base, Rolland said.
"I knew I couldn't get him down by myself, so we called the police."
Two police officers and four firefighters responded to the scene to help rescue the dog, officials said. Officer Christopher Locklear and Firefighter Scott Bowman climbed the formation to get to the dog, and all on scene worked together to get Obi down safety.
"It was definitely something different for me," Locklear, a 17-year veteran on the force, said.
Obi made it out with just a couple of scrapes, his owner said. Rolland credited the calm response and help from the emergency responders with rescuing Obi. Locklear said he was happy all ended well.
"He's a beautiful dog...I'm just glad there was a positive outcome," Locklear said. "It was definitely a nice thing to go home and tell my son what I did at work today."
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
