Dog rescued after becoming stranded above frozen waterfall on Christmas

OGDEN — A dog that became stuck overnight above a frozen waterfall is safe and recuperating at home, thanks to a Christmas Day rescue by Weber County Search and Rescue teams.

Weber County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Horton, who works with search and rescue, said his team received a call around 1 p.m. on Christmas Day about the dog that had spent the night in Waterfall Canyon.

A local man had been hiking on Christmas Eve near Waterfall Canyon when he became separated from his dog, Nala, searchers learned. After searching for hours and being unable to recover her, the man went home, returning early the next morning to continue looking for Nala.

By early afternoon on Christmas Day, the man's family was concerned because he wasn't answering texts or phone calls due to poor service in the area, Horton said. The family did later manage to reach the man, but the sheriff's office sent a four-person climbing team to assist.

Horton said the team made contact with Nala's owner at the base of the waterfall, where they discovered the man had frostbite on his fingertips. The man said he had located his dog at the top of the waterfall but was unable to reach her due to the steep and icy terrain, according to a Facebook post from Weber County search and rescue.

Horton said two team members were left with the man to see to his medical needs, while the other two went up the mountain where Nala had been located by drone footage. The drone turned out to be "invaluable," according to Horton, because it mapped a safe route for climbers to reach Nala.

The drone was also how rescuers ultimately got close to the dog, who was a bit skittish after being stranded through the night. Horton said Nala ran away from rescuers for 15 to 20 minutes, despite attempts to lure her closer with beef jerky. But, apparently, Nala had been spooked by the drone, he said. The team brought the drone in closer and Nala decided the flying object was scarier than people.

"We can't believe it worked," Horton said. "(Nala) went right to the rescuers at that point."

The dog was cold, with a few minor injuries, but was able to hike down with the rescuers, according to the Facebook post, which includes video of the rescue. The video also appeared on TMZ on Tuesday.

"She is one tough puppy!" the video caption states. "Once reaching the trailhead parking lot, both human and canine couldn't have been happier to be reunited."

Horton said the whole operation took about seven hours. Search and rescue teams typically don't go after animals, he said — but in this case, a person was putting themselves at risk to save their pet.

He also advises hikers to keep their dogs on leashes, and to remember that their lives are more important than an animal's life, in every case.

"But we will make every effort to try and help out if (we're) available, if we can," Horton said.

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