Dog's 'lucky' recovery after Dales rocks plunge

Monty needed emergency surgery after his cliff fall

A dog owner has described the "soul-destroying" moment her pet plunged 10ft (3m) into a river in the Yorkshire Dales, fracturing his spine.

Christine Orr, from Harrogate, was taking Monty on a walk around Linton Falls in Grassington when he leapt over a wall at a viewing platform and into the water below, smashing into rocks as he fell.

After undergoing major reconstructive surgery and a 10-day stint at the vets, the six-year-old Labradoodle is now back to his "usual crazy self", according to Ms Orr.

"He walked out wagging his tail and I couldn't believe he looked so well, I've never cried so much over an animal," she said.

Ms Orr and her partner Mark feared the worst when Monty "without any warning" jumped over the wall at the popular walking spot.

"Monty just walks beside us and never jumps anything, so he was off the lead," she said.

"I saw him smash into the rock face and then it was a sheer drop into the water.

"I thought he was dead, and my scream was so loud a lady in a nearby house came out to see what was going on."

Monty leapt from a viewing platform at Linton Falls in the Yorkshire Dales

Ms Orr entered the river to rescue her pet, who was able to paddle with his front paws towards her.

"When I got him onto a rock, I knew right away something was badly wrong as his back end was down and he couldn't stand up properly," she said.

Onlookers helped to pull the pair to safety, and North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service arrived to transport Monty carefully to the couple's car.

He was initially driven to a veterinary practice in Skipton where they assessed his injuries, before being transferred to a centre in Wetherby that dealt with complex cases.

Vet Rhys Treharne said when Monty arrived, it was clear he had "a number of injuries and was obviously in a lot of discomfort".

The Labradoodle needed two surgeries, to treat his spine and to tackle a tendon rupture to his pelvis.

"If we hadn't operated the fracture could have got much worse, so we went ahead with surgery," Mr Treharne explained.

Monty underwent major reconstructive spinal surgery

"He made a really good recovery from both procedures and was quickly up and walking again.

"He was really lucky not to have done even more damage after such a nasty fall, and it's nice to see him doing so well."

Monty now has regular physio and hydrotherapy sessions, to reduce the risk of developing arthritis.

Ms Orr said she was amazed and grateful for his recovery.

"It was such a soul-destroying thing to go through and I've never cried so much over an animal," she added.

"But he's pretty much fully back to his usual crazy self, although we make sure to keep him on the lead now."

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