March 07--A man and his dog were rescued Thursday afternoon after they became stranded trying to make their way up the slippery side of the Fair Oaks Bluffs.
Michelle Eidam, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, said a rescue unit and a boat crew responded to the bluffs near River Front Lane and Central Avenue in Fair Oaks about 3:50 p.m.
She said a man had been walking along the river with his dog, when he decided to try to climb to the top of the bluff. He was 15 to 20 feet from the top and the ground was wet and slippery. When he found himself sliding and realized he wouldn't be able to climb to the top, he began yelling for help. Eidam said someone heard him and called 911.
For any rescue on the bluff, she said, the fire department dispatches both a rescue unit and a boat. In this case, she said, it was decided best to rescue the dog, a female, first, for fear she would try to follow the man and injure herself if rescuers tried to take him first. The man agreed.
Eidam said the dog was 5 to 10 feet farther up the bluff than the man. Firefighter Brad Dessert was lowered down the side the the bluff, where he fastened a harness on the dog. The two were safely hoisted to the top of the bluff.
Dessert then went down to rescue the man and the two were lowered to the boat.
Eidam said man and dog were able to walk away uninjured. The rescue, she said, took less than an hour.
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