Dog survives 115ft fall into the sea  

A pet Labrador must be thanking its lucky stars after surviving a fall from a 115ft cliff.

The dog, Dexter, was being walked by owners Jonathan and Christine Dodd on the clifftop at Old Harry Rocks near Swanage, Dorset, when he suddenly ran off the edge and plunged into the sea below.

Unbelievably, the hardy dog not only survived but came through the ordeal without a scratch.

115ft cliff -paddle to a lifeboat that had been called to rescue him.

"He must have fancied going for a swim and thought that was the quickest way down," the Telegraph quoted Jonathan, as saying.

"I couldn't bring myself to look over the edge as I thought he was a goner. There was no way he could have survived that fall, it was a sheer drop.

"There was a party of schoolchildren standing further along the cliff edge and they gave out a shriek when they saw Dexter go over. But then one of them said he was OK and was swimming towards the shore," he added.

Luckily, Dexter had rolled off the uneven surface of the cliff as he fell and landed in the sea.

Although unharmed, there was no way of getting to him, so an inshore lifeboat from Swanage was called to pick him up.

"Dexter normally hates boats but he must have been so relieved to see this one because he doggy-paddled out towards it," Jonathan said.

"I met the lifeboat further along the beach and I was amazed because there wasn't a single scratch on him. He is a very white dog but he is a bit pale now after what happened," he added.

Becky Mack, from the Swanage lifeboat, said, "Some dogs are just incredibly lucky and Dexter is one of them."