Appeal for brave kayakers who saved dog after fall from Dublin cliff
When Anne Lynch was walking along the cliffs of Howth with her dogs Rollie and Sugar back in March, she turned a bend on the cliff walk when she realised that the Pomeranian, who was a bit ahead of her, was nowhere to be seen.
After a brief search, Anne was told by a passing couple that the dog had fallen over the cliff edge.
Rollie from Sutton who is recovering from falling off a cliff at Howth… His owner, Anne, is desperate to find the kayakers that saved him… 0818 715 815 if you know who it is! pic.twitter.com/deg7LsrGHo — Liveline (@rteliveline) May 27, 2025
'We obviously panicked, and laid down on our bellies to see if he'd poke out, but he didn't,' Anne told Liveline. 'After a couple of minutes of trying to call him, I called the Gardaí while my partner stayed [on the cliff].'
After calling out for Rollie for another few minutes, Anne said that her partner spotted four kayakers along the water from the north — and after thinking that they were just waving at them, the kayakers confirmed that they were able to see little Rollie, and that he was alive.
'We couldn't really see down the cliff; it jutted out a little bit,' Anne explained. 'So we were hoping that he'd wander out, but he wasn't moving. The kayaker jumped out of his kayak, and put Rollie between his legs and started paddling away.' A woman has thanked b/irave kayakers who saved her dog's life after her beloved pooch fell from a cliff in Dublin. Pic: Liveline/X
After being told to meet them at the Sutton Dinghy Club, Anne and her partner could see the kayakers with Rollie in tow; confirming that he was alive but was bleeding and needed a vet.
'He was awake but obviously in shock. He was very quiet, but was awake and looking at us,' Anne added, saying that they brought him straight to the vet — but rushed off without being able to properly thank them for saving their pooch.
As for Rollie's injury, an x-ray the next day found that Rollie suffered a number of injuries, including a liver rupture and rib injury, but after surgery, Anne said he's doing well — and despite being an injured pup, Rollie is still able to go on his morning walks with his family; albeit via a different method. Little Rollie miraculously survived the fall, and was rescued by passing kayakers — with Anne hoping that she'll be able to properly thank the people who saved her dog's life. Pic: Liveline/X
'He's a very active little dog, and he wanted to go on all our regular morning walks, so my sister in law sent us a buggy for him, a special dog buggy,' Anne laughed. 'So we drive him around every morning with our border collie so he doesn't miss out.
'We went to a wonderful vet, the Dublin Bay Vets, and we can't thank them enough.'
While Rollie is recovering at home, Anne added that if it wasn't for the kayakers, he would've been a goner; saying, 'I think we would've hoped to get help from the Gardaí or the RNLI… we would've had to start figuring out how to get down'
'We just want to say to [the kayakers], we just want to apologise for not getting their names or numbers, but let them know that Rollie is safe, and you saved his life.'
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