A dog was fell on a crumbling cliff — then a deputy does something absolutely shocking

Imagine seeing a dog stranded 30 feet down a crumbling cliff. A deputy climbs down to reach him, but now there's a problem nobody up above can fix with a simple rope. The dog is almost upright against the hillside, with barely any room to move. Now, here's the question. What do you do when you can reach an animal in trouble, but you still can't bring him home? The dog's name is Otto, and when I learned what Deputy Ulrich chose to do next, I understood why this rescue meant so much more than pulling a dog up a cliff. September 30th, 2026. Snohomish County, Washington. Otto had gone over a steep cliff and couldn't get back to the top. About 30 feet below the rim, he was stranded on soft, unstable ground tangled with ivy and loose debris. Master Patrol, Deputy Urich, had search and rescue experience. He used climbing equipment to make his way down to the dog, but reaching Otto didn't mean he could carry him out. The slope was too precarious, and there was almost nowhere to stand. Above them, rescuers were gathering the gear for a careful lift. They needed a special harness and a secure rope system. Neither could be improvised in a few seconds. And this is where the deputy did something quietly extraordinary. He stayed down there, beside Otto, for more than two hours. According to the sheriff's office, Urich helped keep the dog calm while they waited. No quick rescue, no easy way back, just a frightened animal and someone who made sure he wasn't alone. More than two hours, imagine that. Otto couldn't know what the rescuers above were building or when they'd come for him. But he had someone right beside him. And staying wasn't even the hardest part. They still had to lift Otto without sending that loose ground sliding. The Washington State Animal Response Team, known as WASART, arrived to find a few dependable places to anchor ropes. Their solution? A large pickup truck at the top of the cliff became the secure anchor for the lifting system. Once the rigging was ready, another rescuer was lowered to join the deputy and Otto. But Otto was almost vertical against the dirt. While Urich helped hold him securely, the rescuer tried to fit a harness around his body. Ivy was tangled everywhere. The soil shifted. There wasn't even enough space to get the straps in place. Then came the tiniest breakthrough. They managed to reposition Otto until his paws found a ledge just six inches wide. Six inches. Not a path home. Just enough footing to finish fastening his harness and attach him to the rope. After all that waiting, the team could finally begin bringing him up. And for one wonderful, slightly chaotic moment, Otto had ideas of his own. You know how dogs sometimes decide they're helping, even when they're making your job twice as difficult? Well, Otto picked that exact moment. The rescuers had finally secured him. They started the lift, and Otto apparently decided he'd do some climbing himself. As Otto and the rescuer began moving upward, Otto tried to climb the cliff with his own paws. The team later described it with affection. His determination was encouraging, even if it made the lift a little trickier. The rescuer kept him secure, and the crew above continued pulling them towards safety. Then finally, Otto came over the edge. After hours on that crumbly hillside, there was solid ground under his paws again. The harness came off, and Otto was reunited with his owner. Kiro Seven reported that he was uninjured. The whole rescue took about three hours. It's tempting to picture just one hero in a story like this, but that wouldn't tell the whole truth. WASART handled the difficult rope system. The deputy helped hold Otto while the harness went on. Snohomish County Animal Services and Marysville Police were part of the wider team. Every one of those roles mattered. Still, there's one detail I keep coming back to. Before anyone could lift Otto, Deputy Urich spent over two hours keeping him company on a cliff where standing was hard enough. He couldn't explain to Otto that more help was coming. He couldn't promise a time. He could only be there and help keep him steady. Sometimes that's what kindness looks like. Not a big speech, not a grand gesture for a camera, just choosing not to leave someone alone while help is on the way. If that touched your heart, give the video a like and subscribe to awesome for more true stories worth sharing. And tell me something, if you could say one thing to Deputy Urich, what would it be?