BLACKSBURG, Va. – A two-year-old lab-hound mix is home with his family tonight after he was rescued from a cliff in Blacksburg.
Multiple agencies were called to Shadow’s aide. He loves to explore the great outdoors, mostly trying to chase animals in the backyard.
But one day in October, his curiosity almost went too far.
Chris Jordan, Shadow’s owner, remembers the night he got loose and didn’t return.
"We had a cracked fence post back there and he pushed his way through the fence and he took off. It was right before dark,” said Jordan.
A call the next day from animal control confirms he was a few miles away from home.
“He said, ‘I’m at the quarry.’ I said, ‘The where?’ He said, ‘the Virginia Tech Stone Quarry.’ He said ‘Do you have a black dog?’ I guess he was calling me from the top of the cliff and gotten down to Shadow to read his tag, which has my number on it,” said Jordan.
It’s still a mystery how Shadow got to the ledge.
“He said, ‘he’s gotten himself in a pretty bad situation but I think we’re going to be able to get him out,’” said Jordan.
The rescue was captured on a cell phone camera. The crew used special gear and equipment to rappel down to Shadow.
Now, Shadow’s family wants to publicly thank those involved.
“We are incredibly grateful and thankful that they were able and willing to do that. And I think it shows the dedication of ... the animal control and the fire and rescue,” said Jordan.
Shadow was adopted a few months before that dramatic adventure. Since the rescue, Shadow’s outdoor adventures have somewhat quieted down.
“He was lifting latches and all kinds of things. But he has not left us since. I think he might have learned his lesson,” said Jordan.
Montgomery County officials said it took about three hours to complete the rescue from the time the 911 call in to dispatch to the time Shadow was safe.