World's first BASE-jumping dog delights and appalls

Dog flies from Swiss mountain

Whisper takes to the skies (Dean Potter/YouTube)

Rock climber Dean Potter strapped his dog Whisper to his back for his latest BASE jump, to cries of 'Awesome!' and 'Cruel!' on YouTube.

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Dressed in a wingsuit, Potter threw himself from the Eiger mountain in Switzerland, with a camera attached to the back of his helmet capturing the dog's surprisingly relaxed reaction to freefalling through the sky.

While a stunning video, it has attracted a lot of heat over whether taking your dog for a BASE jump is really an acceptable thing to do.

Whisper seems perfectly happy at the end of the video, but that may just be because he is delighted to be back on the ground and not speeding through the air.

"Although both the dog and owner land safely, being strapped to a person's back and dropped by parachute is likely to be a cause of significant stress and fear for the dog," a spokesperson for the RSPCA said.

"Dogs have very complex needs and it is up to owners to ensure all their dogs needs are met and that their dog does not experience stress."