WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) 鈥� When a hiker fell from a 55-meter (180-foot) waterfall in wild New Zealand bush, rescuers were forced to evacuate the badly hurt woman without her dog, which couldn’t be found. After strangers raised thousands of dollars for a search, border collie Molly was flown to safety by a helicopter pilot who was determined to reunite pet and owner.
A week earlier, an emergency rescue helicopter found the woman with bruises and lacerations after a fall at a rocky spot at the waterfall on the South Island鈥檚 West Coast. She was airlifted on March 24 but they were forced to leave without her pet.
Molly was bedraggled and hungry when she was found Tuesday, just a few meters from the spot where the hiker had been lucky to survive.
鈥淚 contacted her in hospital and said I鈥檇 go for a look for it,鈥� said Matt Newton, the owner-operator of Precision Helicopters New Zealand, which is based at Hokitika Gorge near the Arahura River where Molly went missing. 鈥淚 went and looked for the dog several times and no avail.鈥�
Unwilling to give up, Newton and his family launched a fundraiser to pay for more flying hours and advanced search gear. Offers of help and donations poured in, with strangers pledging more than 11,000 New Zealand dollars ($6,300) for a search.
It was enough to fund three more hours in a helicopter using thermal imaging equipment. On Tuesday, Newton took to the skies with a veterinary nurse, volunteer searchers and a dog named Bingo in a renewed search for Molly.
鈥淲e struck jackpot within about an hour,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s we made our way up the river, we could see the dog in the thermal and then we could visually see it.鈥�
There had been no sign of Molly at the waterfall when Newton previously searched the spot, he said. It wasn鈥檛 clear if the dog had also fallen from the waterfall or if she had eventually made her way to the spot where her injured owner landed.
The helicopter dropped low enough for a volunteer to disembark with the rescue dog Bingo to help coax Molly to safety and keep her calm.
Newton thought the dog had survived by eating feral animals during her week in the wilderness.
鈥淪he knew what we were up to, I think,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he behaved real well. She didn鈥檛 run away and she was pleased to be rescued.鈥�
The dog was in 鈥渟urprisingly good condition,鈥� the pilot said. He sent word back to the helicopter base, where other volunteers waited to take turns in the search. 鈥淚nstead we just had a big barbecue and all had a cuddle with Molly.”
Hours after the dog鈥檚 rescue, her owner, still battered from her fall, arrived for a tearful reunion.
鈥淚 think that鈥檒l speed up her healing process somewhat,鈥� Newton said. 鈥淗aving your dog back, that鈥檚 for sure.鈥�
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