Dog survives cliff edge fall
4 October 2001
The owner of a dog who survived a 140ft cliff dive warns others to keep their dogs on leads
Dog owner, Louise Chavannes, is celebrating the survival of her dog, Henry, after he fell 140ft over a cliff at Beachy Head in East Sussex.
Just over two weeks after the event, Henry is at home nursing nothing more than a badly injured leg and is being “absolutely spoilt”.
Louise, 42, says it’s a “miracle” he is alive but she says she cried for a week after it happened.
She was out walking her five-year-old part-bred Flat-Coated Retriever Henry with a friend when the incident occurred.
“He suddenly got the scent of something and shot passed me straight over the cliff. The wind was up so he probably couldn’t hear when I tried to call him back.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“At first we obviously thought he was dead because we couldn’t see him from the overhanging cliff. We ran for about half an hour to get down to the beach. He was still breathing so we wrapped him in a rug, which we’d brought with us.
“We ran back as we had to race the tide which was coming in fast. My hands are still stiff from carrying him. Henry wasn’t unconscious but he kept closing his eyes while we were taking him to the vet.
“The vet was astonished he was still alive – and it took a good few days before we believed he was going to live.”
It was six days before Henry was let out of the hospital and the bad news for Louise was she wasn’t insured.
“I could have had a holiday in the Caribbean for the money I’ve spent but even my husband said he would have paid anything to keep him alive.”
Louise says she’ll never go back to that area to walk Henry again, but she advises anyone who might be tempted to ensure that their dogs remain on a lead.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
