Dog Survives After Falling 50ft from Reservoir Dam

A dog named Oban had a “lucky” escape after tumbling 50ft (15.24m) off a dam wall in Devon.

He is a 20-month-old black Labrador who ran off from his owners during a Boxing Day walk in woodland near the Burrator Reservoir on Dartmoor.

In a panic, he jumped off the dam to find them on a walking route below. Oban suffered a broken leg and puncture wounds but survived the steep drop. One of Oban’s owners, Mark Harding, said he was elated to find him alive. He said the dog went missing at about 13:00 GMT as his family went for a walk near the dam.

“Oban was doing what he normally does and ran ahead a little bit – he obviously lost us, panicked, and tried to find his way back on the route he came from,” he said. “I understand he ran across the dam; some people tried to catch him because they could see he was beside himself.

“He decided the best way to get back to where he’d come from was to jump onto the parapet of the dam itself and leap 50 feet down to ground level.

“The drop is horrendous.” Oban was spotted in the woods by a member of the public but he again ran off.

He was eventually found by members of the Tavistock branch of the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team in dark and wet conditions four hours after he went missing.

Catherine Jones, a vet from the rescue organization, said volunteers surrounded the dog to stop him from running off again.

Oban’s owners then made their way to him so he could be reunited with them.

Ms. Jones said: “It’s amazing he didn’t have more serious injuries like a ruptured diaphragm or something like that, given the height he had fallen.

“He’s incredibly lucky.”

Oban is expected to spend 12 months recovering after his leg surgery.