Dog runs 6km to find help after owner drives over cliff in US

A dog’s owner drove off a steep cliff in the United States. The beloved pet’s next act was astonishing.

Talk about man’s best friend.

A loyal pooch ran four miles (6.4km) through the wilderness in Oregon, in the US to find help for its injured owner — who spent the night stranded after driving off a steep cliff into a ravine, the New York Post reports.

Brandon Garrett’s dog arrived at a Baker County campsite around 9.30am on Monday to alert his anxious family to the trouble, the county sheriff said.

Brandon Garrett spent the night stranded after driving off a cliff. Picture: Baker County Sheriff's Office

His dog ran over 6km through the wilderness to alert his family. Picture: Baker County Sheriff's Office

They immediately launched a search party, finding his truck lying on its side at the edge of a creek several hundred feet off a roadside cliff.

Another one of Mr Garrett’s four dogs was standing watch over the truck, officials said.

Unable to reach the crash zone themselves, the family called for a rescue team.

“Sheriff Ash arrived and located the vehicle, along with a dog, in the steep, brushy ravine. As he was looking for an access point to the creek, he heard a subject yell for help,” the Baker County sheriff’s office said.

Mr Garrett had managed to crawl hundred yards (90 metres) away from the vehicle after failing “to negotiate a curve causing the vehicle to plummet off the embankment,” according to officials.

Mr Garrett’s family called for a rescue team. Picture: Baker County Sheriff's Office

Mr Garrett had managed to crawl hundred yards away from the vehicle Picture: Baker County Sheriff's Office

Too injured to climb the steep cliffside himself, Garrett was forced to spend the night in the bushy ravine waiting for his faithful furry friend to find help.

Rescue crews used a “highline rope system” to safely carry Mr Garrett out of the ravine before loading him into a helicopter and rushing to a local hospital.

His condition was not available, but officials confirmed that all four of his dogs survived the terrifying incident.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and has been reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Dog runs 6km to find help after owner drives over cliff in US