Puppy plunges 80ft to its death

May 29 2008 By Gary Fanning

TWO heartbroken dog-lovers this week called for extra safety measures after a puppy plunged 80ft down a Hamilton gorge.

Mandy McCabe’s seven-month-old Samoyed, called Mika, suffered fatal injuries after the horror accident in Chatelherault Country Park last Wednesday at 7pm.

Devastated Mandy and her friend Carol Crawford and their children went for a stroll in the popular country park with Mika and his brother Sy who belongs to Carol.

They were walking along a path in wooded area, near to Cadzow Castle, when the two seven-month-old puppies, Mika and Sy, ran off.

The dogs raced towards the top of the gorge where they got into trouble.

Sy and Mika fell about 15ft down into the gorge.

But Mika plunged a further 65ft in the river below.

Horrified Mandy and Carol realised something was wrong when they heard Sy barking but couldn’t hear Mika.

The frantic mums called the Fire Service for help.

Firefighters sealed off the area and used rope in a two-hour operation to save Sy. It was too late to save Mika who was found dead in the river below.

Signs have been erected warning walkers about a landslip near to the castle where renovation work is taking place.

Now the mums are calling for security fencing to be erected at the accident spot before a child is killed or seriously injured.

Mandy (37), of Viewfield Cottage, Muttonhole Road, says her two daughters Lauren (12) and seven-year-old Olivia have been left shattered by Mika’s death.

She added: “We were distraught.

“I was going to go down into the gorge to rescue Mika but I could have ended up dead.

“The area should be fenced off to prevent any further accidents.

“The drop is about 80ft and very dangerous. What would happen if a young toddler wandered off.

“It took the fire service two hours to rescue Sy.

“They had to use lines and lower Sy into a box.”

Mika was later cremated and Sy is on the mend.

Carol (36), of Hepburn Hill, Hamilton, said: “We accept that the dogs shouldn’t have been off the lead, but the drop is very steep and we want to make people aware of the dangers.

“We would like the council to make the area safer.”

Carol has two children, Euan (6) and three-year-old Callum.

They have been too upset to attend school and nursery following the accident.

Carol added: “We would urge parents not bring their children or dogs to this area.”

A South Lanarkshire Council spokeswoman said: “We have had no notification of this incident or of fire service officers being in attendance.

“Our advice is that pet dogs should, as per the rules of the park, be kept under control at all times. “We would advise that people stick to the formalised walkways as laid out but if they stray from these then they should take the greatest possible care when walking.”