A DOG has been rescued after being trapped for two days on a 400ft sea cliff in Co Donegal.
The three-year old Basset hound went missing on a day out to the turf hill at Glenagiveney near Kinnego Bay on the Inishowen peninsula.
His owners Pat and Sally Murphy had almost given up hope of finding their pet alive. But he was discovered 48 hours later, marooned on a ledge of undergrowth after an 80ft fall.
Over the ledge was a further drop of about 320ft to the rocks below.
The dog’s ordeal came to an end as night fell on Tuesday, when volunteers from Greencastle Coast Guard abseiled down the cliff and winched him to safety.
Pat Murphy explained: “We were out bagging turf on the hill last Sunday, and around 4 o’clock we noticed Harry was missing. Because he’s so low to the ground, we just thought he was hidden in the heather.
“He often makes his own way home from the hill, so we thought no more about it.”
Sally said: “We were getting concerned when he hadn’t returned by Monday night, and by Tuesday we thought we were looking for a body.”
When Pat and his friend Neil McSkeane moved their search to cliff-top fields about a mile from the Murphy home on Tuesday afternoon, the stricken dog heard his owner’s voice and began to bark.
“We couldn’t believe it. Harry has a distinctive deep bark, but it was weaker than usual,” Pat said.
While he couldn’t see the dog, he remained there to calm and reassure him, while his friend ran to raise the alarm.
Gardaí in Buncrana were initially contacted before someone suggested calling Greencastle Coast Guard, who scrambled at the remote coastal location at about 7.30pm. “Operation Hound Dog” had begun.