GRASSY NARROWS — “Dogs really are man’s best friend,” says Jason Cherry, who led the efforts to rescue Caesar, a husky mix dog, from a rock crevice in Grassy Narrows earlier this week.
On April 14, Caesar sadly passed away after three days of community members and travellers from as far as Manitoba combining ideas and gear to navigate the rock crevice.
Caesar was the almost nine-year-old husky mix of former chief of Grassy Narrows, Rudy Turtle, who was out of town at the time but was constantly in contact.
After Caesar had gone missing, Turtle’s stepson Jason Cherry and his family searched the area using a drone and an ATV, to no avail.
When community members reported hearing barking, Cherry and his family searched the area of a well-known spot on a cliff while calling Caesar’s name, which was met with barking. Where the trail ends in a dangerous cliff area, Caesar was found to have fallen down an icy crevice.
Cherry began posting the location on Facebook to notify the community that there was a dog in the crevice, still unsure if it was Caesar.
“It didn’t matter if it wasn’t him, I would still be out there helping him” Cherry said.
As the Facebook posts were quickly shared with hundreds of people offering both suggestions and prayers, people began showing up on ATVs, snow machines and side by sides, Cherry said.
About 15 people from Grassy Narrows, Kenora, and Manitoba came with climbing gear, rope, pulleys and winches. A local nurse provided soft food for Caesar.
One man was able to wedge himself within the opening of the crevice to get a rope around Caesar, who was still about six feet out of reach, but the 80-pound dog was too stuck.
When Caesar passed away, an offering of tobacco was placed into the crevice.
“I just wanted people to know that this was a very wonderful dog and he was well taken care of and we loved him very much, and it’s quite a loss” Turtle said.
Cherry said that he was surprised at the overwhelming support from everyone, and that the effort was powerful and has proven that dogs really are man’s best friend.
