Miracle of the dog that survived 300ft drop after chasing seagull off clifftop Read

A dog that chased a seagull off a 300ft cliff miraculously survived when she landed with a belly-flop in the sea below.

Poppy, a three-year-old springer spaniel, ran off the clifftop in East
Sussex so fast she managed to avoid the beach and plunge into deep
water, which cushioned her fall.

She then saved herself from drowning by doggy-paddling back to the shore where she calmly waited to be rescued.

Poppy was being taken for a walk by Lia Markwick and Stephen Winslade,
as a favour to her owners, Lia's brother Ben Markwick and his partner
Kelly Ixer.

It would seem the excitement of the sea air got the better of her as
she ran away from Miss Markwick and Mr Winslade near the clifftop at
the Seven Sisters' beauty spot in Seaford.

Miss Markwick, 29, said: 'We were about 100 yards from the edge and she
was to the side of us away from the cliffs but she saw this seagull and
just bolted.

'She is normally very obedient but we called at her to stop and she didn't.

'She carried on and just went over the edge at such speed. It all
happened so quickly. I thought "Oh my God" and then felt physically
sick.

'Stephen peered over the edge, expecting the worse but he saw her paddling in the sea and barking.

'The cliff had a overhang so we couldn't see that there was a small beach below which Poppy was heading towards.

'There was no way of getting down to her because it was a sheer cliff,
so it was like she had survived this enormous fall but was now going to
drown.'

The couple called the coastguard and an RNLI crew was despatched to the
scene. A crew member spotted a shocked and dishevelled Poppy sheltering
on a rock and plucked her to safety.

Miss Ixer, a 26-year-old teaching assistant, said: 'I got a call from
Lia to say that Poppy had fallen off a cliff but she was okay.

'I expected it to have only been a little fall, not a 300ft sheer drop.

'What we think saved her was that she bolted off at full pelt and the
momentum was enough to take her over the beach and the surf and into
deeper water.'

Poppy was taken to a vet in Brighton where it was discovered she had suffered a partially collapsed lung.

But within 24 hours it had inflated by itself and Poppy has gone on to make a full recovery.
Miss Ixer, who lives in the village of Ansty, West Sussex, with Mr
Markwick and their three-week-old son Henry, said: 'It is really quite
amazing she survived at all. She is so, so lucky.

'She is well trained and will sit and heal when told but at the end of
the day she isn't human and I guess her animal instinct took over.

'Next time we take her walking near the cliffs we will make sure she is on a lead.'

Mr Markwick, 31, added: 'She should be a goner really. I still can't see how she could survive a fall like that.

'We are just thankful to the RNLI and the coastguards for saving her.'

Paul Legendre, of Newhaven RNLI, said: 'The dog fell 300ft and in 30
years I have been doing this I have only known one other dog to have
survived such a fall.

'The tide was coming in at the time and luckily there was enough water
to break her fall and enough beach to stop her from drowning.'



Springer spaniel: Poppy, pictured with her owners
Kelly Ixer and Ben Markwick and their three-week-old son Henry,
survived a 300ft drop off a cliff


Beauty spot: Seven Sisters cliffs in East Sussex.
Poppy chased a seagull off the edge while being walked by Mr Markwick's
sister and her partner



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz0gIs1y7hf


omg how lucky is she

So so lucky!!!