ARLINGTON Margi Laymans dog Copper is healthy and happy, and she cant thank the volunteers of the Arlington and Monroe fire departments, Snohomish County Fire District 7 and the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office enough.
Copper found herself trapped on a ledge, 65 feet down a cliff face and more than 100 feet above a river on a sheer drop, after chasing a raccoon along the edge of the cliff. Laymans husband called 9-1-1 that evening after supper, when Coppers sister Petra led the Laymans to her, and Layman herself descended part of the way down the slope to try and retrieve Copper.
While first-responders from Arlington Fire and Snohomish County Search and Rescue were able to pull Layman back up that night, they had to call off their efforts to reach Copper at 11:30 p.m. Arlington Fire Deputy Chief Tom Cooper promised Layman he would come back with a crew the next day.
To avoid saving a dog on taxpayer money, Coopers crew on Feb. 7 was made up almost entirely of off-duty volunteers. He was joined by fellow Arlington Fire personnel Phil Knepper, Scott Hillis and Steven Williams, Cindy Coker of Monroe Fire, Tom Belcher of Snohomish County Fire, Danny Wickstrom and Glen Bergstrom of the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office, and Randy Fay and Marion Chambers.
They just showed incredible teamwork, Layman said. It was amazing how focused they were on each others safety. They practiced every method so carefully and nobody was a hot-shot. Everyone ignored their own contributions while acknowledging one anothers.
A month later, Copper shows no physical ill effects from her night stranded on the cliffside, although Layman admitted that her dog is a bit more cautious now.
She still stays pretty close to me, Layman said.