New Brunswick pup comes home after surviving nearly a month on a cliff

Penny, a one-and-a-half-year-old border collie beagle mix, is known for her energy and positive demeanor, and after her most recent adventure, the young pup has added tenacious and lucky to her list of attributes.

“She was gone for 24 days, on the side of the cliff, starving,” said Tyson Rossiter, one of Penny’s owners.

“The only way I think she survived is because we had so much rain, storms and she was able to get water that way.”

Like many days before, Penny was playing in the fields with another dog, except this time she didn’t come back.

When her owners realized she was missing, the entire community came together to help.

“We hired a search dog and we actually even came right along this area with the dog and I personally searched this area several times, and lots of people walked along the beach and along the top of this cliff and no one was able to see her,” said Rossiter.

“It wasn’t that this area wasn’t searched, she was just in a spot where you couldn’t see her.”

Penny went missing at the beginning of March and consistent searches took place for weeks, it wasn’t until this weekend that a miracle happened.

“When the man called me and said he found my dog on the beach, immediately I thought he meant he found the body, then he said she was alive and I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t get there fast enough,” he said.

A local family was walking their dogs along the cliffs near Waterside Beach. Jim and Tom Martin happened to look up at just the right time and spotted Penny on the ledge.

A Facebook comment from Connie Martin helped describe the rescue. It read in part, “Tom climbed up the cliff and wrapped her up in his sweater and carried her down to the beach. He threw Jim her collar and the owners name was on the tag.”

After that, a reunion that Rossiter had almost given up hope on ever having.

“It was unbelievable. I really couldn’t believe it. I was running, that’s all I remember is running and when I [saw] her I was so happy,” he said.

“I still, even though part of me thought she was gone, every time I’d come home I still expected to see her sitting there on the step and I knew in my heart if she could make it home, she would. But now I know she tried, she just couldn’t physically make it home.”

Currently, Penny is at the Riverview Animal Hospital receiving treatment.

“She’s not strong enough quite yet to go through her surgery. She has to have her leg amputated, obviously it had gangrene in it from being so long on the side of the cliff, and it’s a bad situation, but she’s getting healthier and it’s looking good,” said Rossiter.

Her other front leg has a few stretched tendons that would usually be treated with surgery, but instead, Penny will receive a special brace.

Overall the prognosis is promising and Penny’s family is ready to have her back where she belongs.

“Just to get her home and cuddle with her and hang on to her. I’ve been going up to visit her every day, but I know she’ll be glad to get home,” he said.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Penny’s owners, Rossiter and Robyn, with her medical expenses.

“She is super tough and every day I go to the vet she’s starting to get more of her personality back and it’s so nice to see.”

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