An adventurous dog who got into trouble off the rocks of a Sydney suburb had to be hoisted to safety in a dramatic rescue involving NSW Police Rescue and Bondi surf lifesavers on Thursday morning.
Gus the kelpie became trapped on a rock ledge in the eastern suburb of Clovelly after something spooked him and he took off from his minder towards the rock pools.
Marcella Hayward had been walking Gus with her grandson and told ABC Radio Sydney they tried to catch him.
"We followed him down and he disappeared and we couldn't see him," she said.
"Someone pointed to him and he was out right on the edge on the rock ledge."
Gus the kelpie is in safe hands with the police rescue squad. (Supplied: NSW Police Rescue)
Ms Hayward tried calling out to him but Gus did not respond.
"I saw this massive wave coming and it totally wiped him out and he disappeared under the wave," she said.
With the help of an onlooker and rock fishermen who spotted Gus being swept past them in the water, Ms Hayward tracked Gus down again.
He had managed to scramble onto a rock ledge below the bowling club.
"[Gus] got himself onto dry rock but because the tide was coming in, there was no way for him to go back, so he was trapped there," Ms Hayward said.
By now his owner had rushed to the scene and decided they had to call Triple 0.
Ms Hayward said Gus was "completely freaked out" by this point.
A Bondi surf lifesaver was the first to reach Gus and was able to attach a lead to him.
It was deemed too risky to try to ferry Gus to dry ground on a jet ski, so the NSW Police Rescue squad abseiled down to reach him.
With the help of some treats, the rescuer strapped a harness on the dog, and held Gus in his arms as they were gradually winched up the cliff.
Gus was happy to be back on dry land. (Supplied: NSW Police Rescue)
NSW Police posted photos of the dramatic rescue on Facebook.
"Gus is clearly the adventurous type so we think he enjoyed his time on [the] rope," they said.
Ms Hayward said it was lucky the location was where the rescue team practised, so they had experience navigating the cliffs.
She said Gus was doing well now after his ordeal and she planned to return to the park with him on Friday.
"I think he's a little emotionally scarred by the experience," she said.
"I haven't dared take him back down there today, but I will venture down tomorrow and hopefully we won't have a similar experience.
"I'm not sure he'd do it twice."