Dog saved after fall at Dog Falls

Elaine Callander was walking Kyle when he fell into the gorge

A dog has been rescued after falling 50ft down a gorge at a Highland beauty spot called Dog Falls.

Kyle, a partially deaf and blind 14-year-old collie-Jack Russell cross, fell down the embankment on Sunday evening while out with his owner.

The dog spent three hours in the water at the popular walking spot in Glen Affric in the Highlands.

An inland rescue coastguard team and firefighters managed to rescue the animal shortly after 0100 BST.

Elaine Callander, 53, was walking her dog at about 2200 BST when it fell into the water.

She said: "I was out walking with a friend and Kyle was trotting along behind us.

"One minute he was there and the next he was gone. We went looking for him and looked over the edge to see Kyle scrambling out of the fast moving water on to a rock."

It took me some convincing them that it was not a hoax - that my dog had fallen in Dog Falls Elaine Callander

She dialled 999 and triggered a rescue involving 30 people from the fire and rescue services, coastguards from Inverness, Fortrose and Cromarty, police and Kintail Mountain Rescue Team.

"I was really shocked and phoned the fire brigade immediately", Ms Callender added.

"It took me some convincing them that it was not a hoax - that my dog had fallen in Dog Falls.

"I couldn't believe the scale of the call-out when the services arrived."

"I can't thank everyone enough for their help."

Guide books say Dog Falls gets its name because the water course follows the shape of a dog's leg.

Three fire appliances attended the scene and provided various rescue equipment and lighting while the coastguard members tried to reach the animal.

The coastguard managed to access the water from a bridge and wade upstream to reach the animal.

A spokesman for the Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service said: "The dog was returned to its owner with no harm done."

A spokesman for Aberdeen Coastguard added: "The name of the spot was quite appropriate on this occasion."