Fudge the lab rescued from ledge off Terra Nova cliff

Members of theTriple Bay Eagles Search and Rescue team suited up Wednesday for an unusual call; a dog had fallen over a cliff in Terra Nova National Park.

Fudge, a four-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, had been hiking with his owners Diane and Bill Hiscock onMalady Head around 2 p.m.,when the dog took a leap at the salty water below, unaware of the steep cliff.

"We had a roughly five-kilometre hike to get to Fudge," said one of the rescuers, Ed Osmond.

"We're up to any challenge," he laughed, admitting it was the first dog rescue call he's ever responded to in his 18years with search and rescue.

Osmondsaid the anxious ownerswere at the top of the cliff when the teamarrived.

"They basically [were] keeping me in contact with Fudge by calling his name but you could not see him, so we did not know ifthe dog was injured. We knew he was still alive but basically that was all we knew."

Osmond and another rescuer began to rappel down the steep embankment. Soon,they caught a glimpse of the full-grown Labrador wagging his tailon a narrow ledge that was barely big enough for him to stand on.

Osmond said it was a 100-metre drop to the water below.

"Here he was with his two front paws up on the cliff but he couldn't get up because the cliff was toosharp and he was justscratchingat the cliff," Osmond said.

"I was afraid he'd lose his balance and go back over and then ... say no more."

Osmond suited Fudge up with a harness andthe two men used ropes to slowly raisethe dog to the top of the cliff.

"He was one happy dogand [they were] one happy couple," Osmond said."Just the expression on Diane's face itself was enough for me when Fudge was reunited with her."

"Basically you could just see the tears come down her face. It's like a child to them.That's how pets are."

Coincidentally, Fudge's rescue couldn't have happened on a better day. Wednesday was International Dog Day.