Firefighters rescue dog from 30ft up a tree

Firefighters may be accustomed to being beseeched to rescue cats stuck up trees, but when a fire brigade was called to rescue an otherwise well-behaved pet dog from 30ft up a horse chestnut tree, they were more than a little surprised.

But that was where they found eight-year-old border collie Belle.

The collie managed to climb the tree and disappear from view while being taken for a walk at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire.

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Kez Jenkins, who had been walking her six dogs and two foster dogs last Friday, panicked when she realised Belle had vanished.

She said: “My heart filled with dread. I thought she had either got stuck somewhere or was dead.

“She had run up a part of the tree that was quite steep but wide, a low-slung branch overhanging a farmer’s field.

“The branch she was stuck on was less than eight inches wide and she was dangling with her back legs either side of it.

“She spent almost six hours up there.”

Dog trainer Ms Jenkins, 35, rang the emergency services.

“At first they thought it was a hoax,” she said.

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“They said it was definitely a first for them. No one could believe it.”

Staffordshire Firefighters lowered her to earth in a canvass bag.

Fireman Paul Bowen said: “I have served with Staffs fire service for 34 years and as far as I am aware this is the first time we’ve had to rescue a dog from a tree.”

DogLost, an organisation that helps pet-owners find their missing dogs, also said they had never heard of such an incident happening before.