Dog survives after falling off 200 foot cliff near Sedona
SEDONA, Ariz. - We've all heard cats have nine lives, but an Arizona dog has at least two. He took a treacherous tumble down a steep cliff, but now after two weeks at a veterinarian's office, he's back home.
"Simba" is a city dog. He came from New York City with his owner, Ruth Wallace, when she got married. He may be more used to dodging cars than navigating cliffs, but somehow, he survived a serious drop that would've done in most dogs.
They say every dog has his day and you can tell by the limp and battle scars, Simba sure had his.
"It's amazing. Yeah, it's an amazing feeling. It's still unbelieveable that he is still with us."
The family was sightseeing near Sedona over the Easter weekend when Wesley Wallace hopped on the wall of an overlook. The friendly 4-year-old Goldendoodle came charging after him.
"He was with Ruth at that time and he raced back towards me," said Wesley. "I hopped up on the fence and he shot right over."
Wesley estimates the cliff Simba tumbled down was about 200 feet, and they admit they were expecting to find Simba's body at the bottom.
"When Wesley went down the cliff to look for him, I was just praying. I had a belief that he was going to be all right," said Ruth.
"I just didn't want him to die alone. But then I got down there and he raised his head and I was like, wow," said Wesley.
Somehow, Simba miraculously survived. He's even strong enough to lift his head and wag his tail. Now, after a few procedures and plenty of prayers, this underdog is going home.
"He's really precious to me.. so I'm really happy he's still with us."
Simba suffered cuts and bruises. The worst of it was a broken elbow, but you can imagine Simba's vet bills are very high. A GoFundMe account has been set up: Help Simba with his medical expenses
Tune in to FOX 10 Phoenix for the latest news:
Sign up for FOX 10 email alerts, newsletters