Searchers Gather to Find Dog Feared Lost Over Falls

Picture provided by the owner of portion of the trail where the dog fell.

A volunteer rescue team from the Oregon Humane Society is assembling now to search for a dog who the owner fears went over the edge of popular Punchbowl Falls in the Columbia Gorge. The dog, a one-year-old black labradoodle named Max, was reported to have gone off trail and over the edge of the falls yesterday evening. The health and whereabouts of the dog are not know at the present time. The owner reports that Max was not found in the water at the bottom of the falls (an 80 foot drop) and may be trapped on a ledge between the trail and the water.

A four-person rescue team from OHS will meet the dog's owner at the Eagle Creek Trail Head at 7 am this morning and proceed to make the two mile hike to where the dog was last seen. If found, the team will attempt to rescue the dog. Members of the OHS Technical Animal Rescue Team are trained in mountain and water rescues and have conducted several rescues in the Gorge.

OHS will post info about the rescue as it becomes available.