A Calgary senior and his dog had to be rescued from a ravine in the southwest community of Patterson Heights on Wednesday night.
Emergency crews were called to the area just after 10 p.m. and managed to find the pair after searching for about 15 to 20 minutes.
“Initially, we got a call from the patient, who was lost in the ravine,” Calgary Fire Department Capt. Roger Smith said. “The sun went down, his dog was injured, and he had taken a fall and he was injured.
“He didn’t know where he was and he was disoriented.”
The fire department’s high-angle rescue team was called in and performed a low-slope rescue.
The senior was bruised and scratched up, and the injured dog had to be put on a stretcher to be hauled out of the ravine.
Smith said the dog was “a little apprehensive” about being loaded onto the stretcher.
“We have the ‘dog whisperer’ on our team, and he was able to calm that dog right down,” Smith joked. “He was almost sleeping by the time we got to the top of the hill.”
Both the man and his dog were able to walk away from the incident after being helped to the top of the ravine by emergency crews.
—With files from Michael King