‘Incredibly lucky’ black Lab who fell 50ft over a dam SURVIVES the ordeal

An “incredibly lucky” black Lab survived a 50ft fall over a dam – suffering only a broken leg and minor lacerations.

The 20-month-old pet panicked after losing his family during a festive woodland walk and headed back to Burrator Reservoir on Dartmoor before jumping over the wall.

Oban, known as Obi, fell into the valley below and was only found hours later after a search and rescue team was mobilized.

Incredibly, all he suffered was a broken leg and lacerations.

Oban (pictured), known as Obi, panicked after losing his family during a celebratory family walk

Mark Harding’s wife Lorna and daughters Ellie and Izzie pictured walking the dogs together

Owner Mark Harding was walking their five dogs with his wife Lorna, 57, and daughters Ellie, 26, and Izzie, 23, on Boxing Day when Obi ran into the trees in front of them.

Mr Harding, 58, a director of a property firm, said: “He’s obviously lost us and was panicking and trying to find the way back from where he had come.

“I heard he ran over the dam, some people tried to catch him because they saw he was upset.

“He decided the best way to get back where he came from was to jump onto the parapet of the dam itself and jump 50 feet down.

“The decline is appalling.” Mr Harding, from Yelverton, Devon, added: “I always have this fear of a dog jumping over it, so we always have the dogs on a leash going over the dam.

“We then went over the dam into the forest and the dog got lost in the forest.”

The family searched for Obi for hours while a passer-by also called the fire department. The dog was once spotted by a walker but managed to escape.

He was eventually found in dark and wet conditions four hours after his disappearance by members of the Tavistock branch of the Dartmoor Search and Rescue team.

Catherine Jones, the Harding family’s veterinarian, who was one of the rescue organization’s volunteers, said the group surrounded the dog to prevent it from running away again.

Incredibly, the beloved Labrador suffered nothing more than a broken leg and lacerations. Pictured: An x-ray of the broken leg

The Hardings then made their way to him so he could be reunited with them.

Mr Harding added: “He came to me and collapsed on top of me and then the search and rescue crew put him in a tent.”

Miss Jones said: “It’s amazing that given the height he fell from, he didn’t have any more serious injuries like a diaphragmatic hernia or anything like that. He’s incredibly lucky.”

Obi is expected to spend 12 months recovering from surgery on his leg.

The Tavistock branch of Dartmoor Search and Rescue said that while mountain rescue teams do not typically search for lost animals, members turned out to “avoid risks to members of the public who intended to search in the dark alongside fast-moving water”. .