Missing dogs in Enderby, B.C. reunited with owner after five days outdoors

The Vernon Search and Rescue team got a call in early Friday morning about two dogs who appeared to be stranded on a rock face for five days.

Being separated from your pets can be a painful situation and that was one North Okanagan woman’s reality for the past five days.

Her two dogs went missing at the start of the week and after an unexpected chain of events, she was reunited with them again.

Vernon Search and Rescue (VSAR) members were scaling a portion of the Enderby Cliffs Friday morning, as they were called out to rescue two dogs who had been missing for five days, which is an uncommon situation for VSAR members.

“In my 39 years of doing search and rescue with the Vernon Search and Rescue team, this is, I think the fourth time,” said VSAR search manager Leigh Pearson.

The search and rescue team got a call in the early morning about two dogs who appeared to be stranded on a rock face.

“They’ve got a full complement of rope rescue equipment, several hundred feet of rope and all the carabiners and breaks and things that they need to do this. There’s a six-man team on the mountain right now,” said Pearson.

In a normal situation, members can tell those they are rescuing to stay in one spot and that they will come to find them. Working with animals adds an extra level of complexity.

“It can be very difficult depending where the dogs are. Sometimes they’re very difficult to get to and to get to a place we can access them safely. Number one, of course, is always the safety of our members,” Pearson said.