Pit Bull Stranded Under Paterson's Great Falls Is Rescued

OAKLAND, NJ — A Paterson firefighter and volunteers helped rescue a pit bull stranded on a ledge beneath the Paterson Great Falls Sunday.

The dog after being was stuck on a ledge Sunday just a few feet above the rolling brown water of the Passaic River. A woman who was above the falls saw the dog staring up at her and contacted Paterson Animal Control. Animal Control personnel, firefighters, and animal rescue staff responded to the scene.

Water levels were high at the falls Saturday after a torrent of rain blanketed North Jersey a few hours before. Authorities do not know how the dog became stranded on the ledge.

Firefighter Capt. Scott Parkin rappelled down nearly 80 feet to the base of the Great Falls where the dog was. Once down there, he slowly lured the dog toward him with some food.

Parkin got the dog into a net and it was raised up to the footbridge high above the falls.

"He seemed to settle in. I coaxed him over," Parkin told NorthJersey.com. "He got right in the net for me, which I was surprised at. I was able to cinch the net up around him."

Parkin's father, a longtime Paterson firefighter, rescued two dogs at the Great Falls in 1976, NorthJersey.com reported.

"Like father, like son," Mayor Andrew Sayegh told NorthJersey.com.

The dog was subsequently named "Paterson." He had no collar and no tags.

"Paterson" was taken to the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge (RBAR) for examination. The no-kill, non-profit shelter is caring for him. It regularly works with Paterson Animal Control to save dogs' lives.

"Sadly, there is a history of people throwing dogs over the Great Falls," said Megan Brinster, RBAR's executive director. "It is not known how Paterson found himself trapped just feet above the Passaic River and beneath the roaring Great Falls, a spectacular sight about 12 hours after massive flooding in the area. But, we do know that Paterson’s story and the alliance of efforts he motivated, has been an inspiration to us all."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photos:

"Paterson" trapped on a ledge below the Great Falls in Paterson and near the Passaic River.

Paterson Animal Control Chief John DeCando and "Paterson."

(Photos courtesy of the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge)