VIDEO : This Dog Survives 300-Foot Fall After Leaping Off Cliff “

A plucky pooch is lucky to be alive after leaping off a cliff in Utah.

Toby, the 1-year-old English sheepdog-poodle, was on a trail ride with his owners, the McInnes family, at Gooseberry Mesa on Thursday afternoon when he spotted something and ran off. He jumped into the abyss, free-fell for 150 feet, then tumbled the same distance again down the mountainside.

“For a split second you hope that he landed on something, but I knew there was nothing over there,” Ben McInnes told KSL-TV. “It was awful. You could hear him sliding and bouncing and yelping.”

Meg McInnes called search and rescue, but was told by a dispatcher that they may not be able to help as the service doesn’t usually tackle stranded animals.

The family waited nervously until first responders arrived on the scene more than an hour later and hauled 75-pound Toby back to the top of the cliff.

The dog was taken to St. George Regional Veterinary Hospital, where veterinarians discovered he’d suffered head, eye and brain injuries. He also had sore muscles.

Dr. Kelly Houston said he was astonished at how Toby had survived the terrifying fall.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and I’ve had patients fall 20 feet and die. I’ve never had one do what Toby did and survive,” Houston said.

The gutsy dog is recovering at his family’s home in Eagle Mountain.

Source Huffinpost