CoCo the roving dog had a close call. Some how she  wandered miles from her Iron Gate  area home all the way down to a farm near Eagle Rock. She ended up on a bluff 25 feet above the rolling James River. Did she ride in a canoe? Follow a friend? No one knows and that secret is safe with the Australian Shepherd.

On Sunday night Nov. 27, Kevin Crowder one of Botetourt County’s Animal Control Officers answered a call to the Eagle Rock area along the James River.  C.W. and Linda Waggaman had heard a dog whining. They investigated to find a dog perched on a bluff along a sheer cliff of rock face. Crowder had no idea how the dog arrived in such a predicament.

“I called Eagle Rock Fire Dept. They have a boat rescue. They approached the dog from the river. She was upset, but glad for the help.” The three heroes of the dog rescue are Daryl Johns, Lucas McCullough and Allen Wright, volunteers trained mostly to rescue humans and fight fires. Soon  due to their expertise and despite the dark and gloom, CoCo was in the boat and on her way to shore.

Her owner, Allen Johnson of Iron Gate came and fetched her. Said Crowder, “Co Co was  pretty much back to normal by the time we got in my truck. She was like, “What’s next? ”

Photos by Kevin Crowder