‘It’s a miracle’: Dog survives 60-foot fall at Elora Gorge

A search and rescue operation is being described as miraculous after a dog survived a 60-foot fall at the Elora Gorge Conservation Area. “I felt my heart drop,” said owner Becky Popiolek, who recalled hearing her dog named Willow had gone missing last Wednesday. Popiolek was camping at the conservation area with her family and was tubing when she heard Willow had escaped, despite having a leash and collar on.

She quickly learned the dog was spotted on the other side of the gorge, which is fenced off to keep the public away from the approximate 60-foot drop. Popiolek said it was Grand River Conservation Authority park staff who gave her the horrific update. “I’m sorry to tell you, but she fell off the gorge,” recounted Popiolek.

Deputy Fire Chief Jonathan Karn says the Centre Wellington Fire Department responded to the scene Wednesday night around 7 p.m. “We were contacted by GRCA security staff, they let us know that they had witnessed a dog over the edge that fell, it was about a 60 feet drop,” said Karn. Firefighters rappelled over the cliff edge to begin the search in what Karn described as a fairly wooded and grassy area.

Daylight soon turned to darkness though, and the search was called off with no further sign of Willow. The next day, Popiolek attempted to locate Willow herself to no avail. She had also already taken to social media to generate awareness about her missing dog.

Finding Willow Friday morning, Popiolek’s family was scheduled to end their camping stay and return home to Ingersoll, just as the animal recovery group Ground Search and Rescue KW arrived to the scene. “We were contacted two days after [Willow] had fallen,” said Kathryn Burtenshaw, Cofounder and President of Ground Search and Rescue KW. “Some volunteers went down to canvass the area.

We wanted a second set of eyes, let’s see if we can discover her.” Burtenshaw said her team has an infrared camera and the park rangers brought them out to the area where they knew the dog had fallen. Across the water, their heat-sensing scope was able to capture Willow lying on the ground. “She wasn’t moving at first,” Burthenshaw said.