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Dog lost for fortnight after cliff fall is rescued

RNLI Ilfracombe Pecco is a tan and black German Shepherd. She is on a rainbow-coloured lead and is surrounded by RNLI crew members and coastguards, one of whom is reaching their hand out to let Pecco sniff. RNLI Ilfracombe
Pecco went missing after going off a cliff in Hele Bay on 29 December

A young dog has been rescued from a cliff in north Devon after she disappeared two weeks ago.

Pecco, a 14-month-old German Shepherd, went missing over a cliff in Hele Bay near Ilfracombe on 29 December.

On Tuesday she was spotted on a cliff at the Hillsborough nature reserve but coastguards said she was too scared to be retrieved.

On Friday, after nearly three days of trying, Pecco came close enough to a coastguard to be put a lead. She was placed in a specialist dog rescue bag and lowered to safety on the beach below.

RNLI Ilfracombe A poster with a photo of Pecco on it with PECCO written below it and the words MISSING DOG above it and DOG LOST to the left and right. The poster has glass behind it, suggesting it is pinned up in a door or window.RNLI Ilfracombe
It took rescuers three days to retrieve Pecco because she was scared, the coastguard said

A spokesperson for Mullacott Coastguard Search and Rescue said: "Over the course of three days, rope rescue teams tried many attempts to retrieve the dog, in a very technical and difficult environment.

"She was understandably nervous and avoiding our rescue attempts.

"Food was used to coax the animal and slowly the dog approached the cliff technician."

"Pecco was tired and relieved to be rescued and is well," they added.

'Massive team effort'

RNLI Ilfracombe RNLI Ilfracombe's inshore lifeboat with three crew members aboard who are in uniform and wearing lifebelts and helmets. The RIB reads RNLI on its bow.RNLI Ilfracombe
Pecco was returned to shore by the RNLI Ilfracombe crew after her ordeal

Coastguard search and rescue crews from Mullacott, Lynmouth, Croyde and Bude were supported with the rescue by RNLI Ilfracombe volunteers.

A spokesperson for RNLI ILfracombe said: "This was a massive team effort with search and rescue crews, us and other agencies.

"The coastguard crew members did an amazing job of reaching her where she was on her precarious bit of cliff face.

"We were very happy to take her on her last part of the journey to safety in the inshore lifeboat."

They thanked the community for "coming together to help get her home" by sharing social media posts, putting up posters and using drones.

'Do not self-rescue your dog'

A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: "Dogs are adventurous by nature and it doesn't take much for them to follow their nose without thinking - one moment they might be chasing a bird, and before you know it, they haven fallen down a cliff.

"For everyone's safety please keep them on a lead near cliffs."

"However strong the impulse might be, do not attempt to self-rescue your dog, call 999 and ask for the coastguard," they added.

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