A dog has been rescued from the sea by Irish Coast Guard volunteers after falling from a cliff in Doolin, Co Clare.
They were alerted at around 4.30pm yesterday when the family pet's owners reported his fall from the 23m (75ft) height.
Doolin Coast Guard volunteer Emmet McNamara was joined by two other volunteers on the rescue.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he explained that the rescue boat was launched in a bid to reach the dog, named Bear.
"We needed to approach from the sea as the dog had obviously fallen down the cliff and was on a rock in the middle of this very narrow inlet, about 80m into the cliff face."
Coast Guard volunteers realised they would require a D class vessel, like a dinghy, to reach the dog.
They located him at Poulnagower, where he was sitting on a rock in the middle of the water in a potentially dangerous area.
"He appeared terrified and frightened," Mr McNamara said.
"The dog jumped off the rock and tried to climb the cliff again.
"When he realised he couldn't climb the cliff he made his way back to the rock and one of the crew got a hold of the dog with the boat hook."
"It sounds awful but it was the dog's collar and once he was held in position I was able to lift the dog into the boat."
Bear escaped serious injury and was reunited with his owners, who it is understood were visiting the area from Co Galway.
The successful rescue effort was mounted and coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard's marine rescue sub-centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.
