It was a search and rescue job unlike any other this week: Tasmania Police safely pulled a beloved family dog from a cliff face at Cataract Gorge on Wednesday afternoon.
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Ralphie, a kelpie cross greyhound, was believed to be chasing a kangaroo when the seven-year-old plunged five metres off a cliff at Blackstone Heights.
Owner Ross Harrison said he'd been looking for Ralphie since he went missing about 3pm on Tuesday.
"At daylight this morning I went down to the gorge and wandered up and down for about five hours before we found him," Mr Harrison said.
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Ralphie doesn't bark, making the search for him that much more difficult.
"We managed to hear a bit of a whimper, so that gave us a little bit of an indication of where he was," Mr Harrison said.
The family has lived at the property for seven years, but Mr Harrison said this was Ralphie's first incident.
"It could've been fatal, I understand that, so we've got to be a little bit more careful," Mr Harrison said.
There was a 40-metre drop into the gorge from where Ralphie was standing, so Mr Harrison grabbed his ladder and was ready to start a rescue mission.
"I was about to climb down the ladder and my wife pulled stumps, she said 'I'm not losing two of you'," Mr Harrison said.
Tasmania Police Senior Constables Simon Triffitt and Leighton Riggal had just packed away their snow gear when they were called to in to retrieve Ralphie.
Senior Constable Riggall said Ralphie was a bit stressed about the rescue, but once he was in the bag he was OK.
"Police search and rescue have seen a few jobs this week from snow to a dog off a cliff, so never a dull day," he said.
"We like these ones, it's always good to bring someone's family pet back safe."
Immediately after being rescued Ralphie stopped for an extensive drink in the many puddles at the top of the cliff.
After his safe return to his family, Ralphie planned to have a big dinner before getting a solid night sleep.