Second dog falls into Elora Gorge

Unsafe for emergency workers to retrieve pet’s body, police urge caution

ELORA — A walk through the woods ended in tragedy on Thursday after a dog fell down the side of a cliff at Elora Gorge.

At about 1 p.m., Wellington OPP and Guelph fire were called to the bridge on Wellington Road 7 in response to a report of a dog falling off a cliff into the gorge.

When emergency responders arrived the dog was located, but it was already too late. OPP officers said that when the dog was found, it was deceased and responders made the decision not to retrieve it.

Const. Marylou Schwindt said it was a difficult decision to make, but it wasn’t safe for rescuers to recover the deceased animal.

If emergency services are able to recover the dog in the future, they will, she said. “But safety needs to come first.”

Officers did not say where the dog fell, but they said it wasn’t wearing a leash.

“People should be exercising caution,” Schwindt said. Pet owners need to keep their dogs on leashes, especially in areas with extreme hazards, like on the trails at Elora Gorge.

Last month, a two-year-old German Shepard reportedly fell about 30 metres into the gorge at a different point on the trail.

A high-angle rope rescue retrieved the dog. According to a story in the Wellington Advertiser, it suffered serious injuries to its shoulder and leg, but was expected to make a full recovery.

Tom Mulvey, district fire chief at the Township of Centre Wellington Fire Department, said every year the fire hall receives one or two calls about an animal falling into the gorge. He said the dog that fell on Thursday was a young animal.

“If we can safely go down with our trained personnel and get the animal, we’ll do that,” he said.

In Hamilton, a man is suing the city after slipping on ice and falling into the gorge at Albion Falls, suffering serious injuries. He’s argued for more than a year that the area was dangerous, but was not closed to the public. That’s not the case in Elora, Mulvey said. “Elora Gorge Conservation Area has done over and above what they need to do to make it safe,” he said. “They do everything they can to make sure it’s a safe place to visit and so people don’t get hurt.”