Carl slipped and disappeared into the darkness of a cliff in Dickson County, Tennessee.
His owner, Grissom, had had him for five years. No one knew whether he was still alive until a neighbor, Bert Echols, took his drone and began searching for him between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. He found him curled up beside a small cave, about 120 feet down, with nearly 200 feet of open space between him and Jones Creek.
Nine rescuers from four fire departments—Dickson, Ashland City, Charlotte, and Harpeth Ridge—set up a high-angle rope system to lower themselves down to him. They secured him inside a canvas bag and carefully hoisted him up, as if they knew this dog had spent seventeen hours waiting for someone not to give up. When Grissom had him back in his arms, he couldn’t hold back his tears. Sometimes love is measured in hours of searching and in people willing to hang from a cliff for a dog who isn’t theirs.
