Rescue of missing Bridport dog made into a documentary
'Max is Missing' tells the story of the lucky border collie
A dog from Bridport who was the centre of a massive search and rescue operation is now the star of a documentary.
Max ran off from his owner, Phil Wilton, while on a walk near the cliffs at Eype prompting a two-day search.
Max is Missing is a short film produced by drone pilot Dave Young who assisted in the rescue attempt.
Mike Blair was one of the firefighters sent to the scene who features in the film, he said it was one of the most memorable incidents he's responded to during his career.
Phil recounted the moment Max went missing to Greatest Hits Radio Dorset:
"I'd just assumed he'd gone home because we do that trek quite often. It's sort of a circular route.
"I was asking people on the beach if they'd seen him. Nobody had seen him and I just hung on. I wasn't that worried at that point because they always find their way home."
It wasn't until Max didn't come home for dinner that Phil really started to worry and became concerned that Max must have fallen down the cliff.
That's when he called Dave Young to help search with his drone.
They also called the emergency services who helped look for Max along the cliff, which is covered in bramble. On the first day they weren't able to find him. But on the second day someone messaged Dave to say they overheard a man saying he thought he could hear a dog on a certain section of the trail.
A firefighter abseiled down to pick Max up where they'd found him and described his sigh of relief when Max looked up and wagged his tail upon hearing his name.
He was pulled up the cliff and reunited with Phil. Phil added:
"He was sitting there. He appeared not stressed at all. It was despondency to elation. I did get a bit emotional."
You can watch the full video on Dave Young's website.