Dog miraculously survives 200-foot fall while hiking with her owner

Dog miraculously survives 200-foot fall while hiking with her owner

What should have been a tragic moment became an incredible one for an Oregon woman and her dog on Sunday.

Michelle Simmons was hiking with friends and family, as well as her one-year-old Labradoodle Gracie in the Columbia River Gorge, when suddenly the pup plummeted off the side of a nearby cliff, tumbling 200 feet down.

"We kept hearing her rolling and rolling and heard her hit on the ground, and she yelped out and we didn't hear anything after that," Simmons told KPTV FOX 12. "We thought we lost her."

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After notifying authorities of what had happened, the group tearfully began to leave, when another hiker caught up to them, shouting, "She's alive! She's alive!"

Sure enough, a 10-person rescue team lowered down the cliff found Gracie perched on a ledge, bruised and scratched, but otherwise fine.

"She was barking, wagging her tail," Simmons said. "It was a miracle."

Watch KPTV's full newscast on the incredible story, below. --Sarah Eberspacher

KPTV - FOX 12

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.