M'sians Brave Dangerous Climb To Rescue Dog Stranded On Cliff In PJ
The rescue mission lasted for eight and a half hours.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 23 Mar 2023, 02:31 PM
A group of Malaysians braved the dangers of falling and successfully rescued a dog stranded on a cliff in Forest Hill, Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya, on Sunday, 19 March
The urgent call for help was first announced by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Selangor in a Facebook post last Saturday, 18 March.
Netizens then tagged Francis Poh in the post, a seasoned animal rescuer who went viral in September 2021 for saving a dog from a 'kidnapper' monkey, and he decided to launch a rescue mission.
Very quickly, Poh's friends and their acquaintances, namely Kevan De Silva, Stefan Chong, Cheong Chia Ling, and Azhar Abd Majid, volunteered themselves and joined him in rescuing the stranded dog.
The hastily assembled team was later joined by several others, all of whom came from different backgrounds. Cheong and De Silva, who are experienced hikers, led the climb, while the rest took on roles such as hike coordinators, navigation directors, and standby members in case the dog or other team members fell from the cliff.
The rescue mission started at 8am and ended more than eight hours later at 4.30pm, with the rescuers suffering from sunburns, bruises, small cuts, and fatigue
"Our initial plan was to climb the hill from the lake but after about two hours, we aborted the plan as the terrain was not conducive for us to climb up," Poh told Malay Mail.
The team decided to take another route through a construction site above the hill in an attempt to get closer to the stranded dog.
While taking the route, the team had to work together to communicate the direction they were hiking and the location of the dog. Standby members, who were on the boat and the lakeside, also gave directions.
Among the strategies they employed during the mission included using walkie-talkies for uninterrupted communication and utilising two brightly coloured umbrellas to indicate their location, Poh said in a Facebook post published yesterday, 22 March.
"Gan (a friend of De Silva) used two coloured umbrellas to guide us to the dog's location, while Azhar sat on a boat in case the dog fell from the cliff into the lake," Poh said.
They brought climbing ropes, which had gotten wet during the hike, making their journey even more taxing than it already had been.
After they arrived at the cliff and spotted the stranded dog, Poh and De Silva were the duo tasked to grab the frightened canine
They abseiled down the cliff and stopped on a narrow platform.
The last stretch was performed by De Silva, where he had to cling onto the harness while reaching for the dog, Poh told SAYS when contacted.
A photo Poh uploaded on Facebook shows De Silva successfully retrieving the dog from the cliff before they return to safety.
Poh (right) and De Silva retrieving the stranded dog from the cliff.
Image via Francis Yirdaki CT (Facebook)He confirmed with SAYS that the dog was a stray and did not belong to the residents at Forest Hill.
Nevertheless, the residents appreciated the rescuers' efforts and good deed, and prepared pizza, Starbucks beverages, and bread for them to enjoy after the rescue mission.
