A Jack Russell terrier has been dramatically rescued from a 13th floor ledge after being stranded for two days at a Sydney apartment block, in a rescue operation that had onlookers holding their breath.
Ellbie went missing on Anzac Day after escaping from a Dee Why apartment on the other side of the building. This sparked a frantic search by the dog's owner, Alex Dobrin, who was overseas in Thailand, and his son Jake Dobrin, who was looking after Ellbie for the first time.
Jake expressed his terror during the ordeal, stating, "I was scared for number one for my life and also for my dog's life." Alex added, "The poor fella, I must have called him a hundred times. Funnily enough, this was a test for him."
After Jake returned from an afternoon out, Ellbie was gone. He immediately posted flyers offering a reward for her safe return. Alex questioned, "Did she go through the gap? We said, well, she can't because she's too fat."
The breakthrough came on Monday morning when Fernando Westin spotted one of the flyers and decided to send his drone up to search the building. "I go inside all the balconies and then when I go to this side, she was here," Westin said.
The tiny dog had somehow traversed about 40 metres along the building's exterior to the north-west side, ending up wedged between a window and metal bars outside resident Marty's apartment. Marty had his blinds down all weekend and was shocked when he opened them: "Opened up the blind, looked over the edge and there was a poor little bugger."
Ellbie was petrified and refused to move, but with delicate touch and determination during a three-hour rescue operation, firefighters managed to pass her back inside through the window. One firefighter remarked, "We want to do our best to save its life. So, yeah, I'm glad we did that today."
Alex described the rescue as "a Hollywood moment, isn't it, really? Unbelievable." Jake was overwhelmed with relief: "I was over the moon, you know. I thought, I didn't know I was going to see her again."
After more than 48 hours on the ledge, Ellbie was very hungry and thirsty. She has since been fed, given water, showered, and taken to the vet as a precaution. The lucky pup now has her very own Anzac tale to tell.
