Elderly dog miraculously survives after he slipped off an icy cliff in Virginia, officials say

Oakley survived without major injuries

Oakley, the 16-year-old dog, emerged unscathed after falling off the side of a cliff in eastern Virginia (Giles County Animal Shelter)

An elderly dog was reunited with its family last week after the canine slipped on ice and fell off a cliff – resulting in a suspenseful rescue mission by an animal control team in eastern Virginia.

Oakley, the 16-year-old dog from Giles County, was outside at his family home Wednesday when his paws lost their grip on the ice and he slid backwards over the side of the cliff near the backyard, the Giles County Animal Shelter said on Facebook.

Conditions in the area have been dangerously slick since a storm dropped several inches of snow and ice. Even attempting to look for the senior dog on foot was dangerous for anyone, the shelter said.

But Animal Control Chief Bill Ahern and Officer Jacob Taylor were determined to find Oakley after being dispatched to the backyard where the dog slid down the cliff.

“I stepped out and I realized immediately how slick it truly was,” Taylor told WDBJ. “There was not many footprints in the yard, which made it extremely dangerous and slippery.”

Oakley fell victim to the slippery conditions in Giles County, Virginia, last week when he lost his footing and slid backwards off a cliff (Giles County Animal Shelter / Facebook)

Realizing they would not be able to search for the dog themselves, Ahern and Taylor called for backup in the form of a drone from the Giles County Emergency Services. The drone could not spot Oakley – an all-white dog lost in the snowy terrain. It managed to spot his paw prints, indicating the canine walked away from his fall.

“We hoped it was our dog and not a coyote or something,” Ahern told WDBJ.

The team then made a call to the Virginia Department of Transportation, which dispatched a road grader to make a path down to the bottom of the cliff where train tracks were located. The type of vehicle is often used in construction and uses long blades to create traction on uneven surfaces.

Virginia Department of Transportation dispatched a road grader to make a path so people from Norfolk and Southern Rail could search for Oakley (Giles County Animal Shelter / Facebook)

Once it made a path, employees from Norfolk and Southern Rail descended from the mountain to scour the area for Oakley. It didn’t take long to find the dog.

“Right before they actually entered the tracks, they saw the dog down there and were able to call it and get him into the truck,” Ahern recalled.

Despite falling down the slippery cliff, Oakley was unharmed and made it back home safely.

In a statement on Facebook, Oakley’s owner, Meg Nettles, said that “words cannot express how grateful I am to this team of amazing people. I was simply helpless, and watching them fight so hard to bring my baby home was truly incredible.”

“The dedication and effort to rescue my sweet fur baby has got me in all the feels. Folks put it all on the line, going above and way beyond their job duties,” Nettles wrote.

Ahern echoed Nettle’s sentiment, saying: “We’re just lucky to have people who care enough to stop what they’re doing and come and help for a dog.”

Oakley miraculously survived the fall without sustaining any major injuries.