Edmonton woman saved by her dog after falling off a cliff

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    Mini poodle Brady knew how to get help when his owner fell off a cliff in the Riverdale area in Edmonton. Sarah Chew finds out what the city is doing to prevent similar accidents from happening.

    By Sarah Chew

    An Edmonton woman is sharing her survival story, which may not have been possible if it wasn’t for her four-legged friend.

    Brady, a two-and-a-half-year-old mini poodle was walking with his owner, Maia Stock, by the North Saskatchewan River south of Riverdale Park, when she disappeared.

    Hero dog

    Brady tugs on his leach near where his owner Maia Stock fell off a cliff towards the North Saskatchewan River. (Photo: CityNews)

    “I was just walking here and then I stopped here and I pulled out my phone to take a picture, and I was showing Brady the edge – I don’t know why I was just showing him it. And then the ground just gave way and I fell all the way down. I remember tumbling down, so scared that I was going to hit the water, and terrified falling down that – because it was a long way down,” explained Maia Stock.

    Stock heard later that Brady stayed in the area whining and barking until he herded a passing couple to his fallen owner – the couple then called 911.

    North Saskatchewan River

    North Saskatchewan River south of Riverdale Park. (Photo: CityNews)

    “He was whining and barking and herding them toward me, and then they saw me down there, and they were like, ‘Is this your dog?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah,’ and they’re like, ‘Is he okay?’ And I’m like ‘Yeah, but I’m not – I fell!”

    Brady’s brave barks for aid also helped Stock’s mom find her on the trail.

    “When I looked down and saw where she was, I couldn’t believe that she’d fallen that far. And my stomach just dropped because I was sure she was going to be badly injured,” said Barb Wilkinson, Stock’s mother.

    Barb Wilkinson

    Barb Wilkinson, Maia Stock’s mother. (Photo: CityNews)

    Stock says she suffered some minor scrapes and bruises, as well as a concussion — her mom thinks there should be more protection in the area for residents.

    “Neighbours have been asking the city for some kind of guard rail or fencing, worried about the stability of the cliff here,” explained Wilkinson.

    The family says the warning signs were put up in the area after Stock’s fall. CityNews reached out to the city for comment, in an email response, the city confirmed barricades are going up on Tuesday as they work toward a permanent solution.

    IMG_3510

    A longtime Riverdale resident says Stock is not the first person to have fallen off the cliff, and if other residents aren’t careful, she won’t be the last.

    “The swallows burrow underneath. They weaken the ground, and it naturally collapses every year. It’ll go back sometimes each year a foot, other times it’s three feet,” said Richard Dixon, Riverdale resident for 30 years.

    For Stock, who’s fallen once before off a cliff into the North Saskatchewan River, this was another lesson.

    “I think I should just be more careful.”

    So a dog might be man’s best friend, but in times of trouble, they could be your saving grace.

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