LETTER TO THE EDITOR | South Whidbey fire district went above, beyond

Editor, Monday, as I was walking my dog on Edgecliff Drive, she slipped out of her collar and took off. I saw her chase a rabbit and soon discovered why the name Edgecliff is absolutely the right name for our street. As I ran to look where she had run, I had to hold my breath because beneath the brambles and berry bushes there was indeed an edge and, OMG, what a cliff. I didn’t hear anything for a while. I yelled and yelled, drove down to the marina but couldn’t see anything and got no answer when I called.

October 22, 2013 5:09 pm

Editor,

Monday, as I was walking my dog on Edgecliff Drive, she slipped out of her collar and took off. I saw her chase a rabbit and soon discovered why the name Edgecliff is absolutely the right name for our street.

As I ran to look where she had run, I had to hold my breath because beneath the brambles and berry bushes there was indeed an edge and, OMG, what a cliff. I didn’t hear anything for a while. I yelled and yelled, drove down to the marina but couldn’t see anything and got no answer when I called.

I called the Langley Police Department, mostly for a heads up, as she is mostly Chocolate lab but part pit bull. She loves people, but dogs … not so much. I didn’t want her attacking someone else’s pooch so I kept going back to where I saw her go down and finally heard a whimper. So, I called the police back and they contacted Deputy Chief Mike Cotton with South Whidbey Fire/EMS. I was expecting something like, “Right, a dog.”

I could not have been more wrong.

Along with alerting his all-volunteer fire department, Mike also called in the Navy’s High Angle rescue team from Oak Harbor. To make this story shorter, Brandon Callahan and Kim Boenish, two very professional and friendly but all-business professionals with the fire district’s marine response unit, allowed me to tag along and we all went to find Carly.

They brought me along because they thought someone who knew the dog might be useful.

Candace was on top of the bluff waving to us so we could find the spot. We beached the boat and Brandon, a fine young firefighter, coaxed her down to the “beach.” We picked her up with no apparent injures after what had to be a 50-foot fall.

I will forever feel even more gratitude then I already do towards Fire/EMS. These folks dropped what they were doing to come help me get my dog. Mike even called in the Navy’s high-bank rescue team from Oak Harbor. Everybody involved, from South Whidbey Fire and the Langley Police Department to the Navy, showed nothing but the highest in professionalism.

I will never forget and always be grateful. I am once again amazed at the caring quality of the people of South Whidbey.

Regards,

NEIL COLBURN

Langley