Social media post sparks cliffside dog rescue at Cumberland Falls Park in Kentucky

CORBIN, Ky. (FOX 56) — A Feb. 18 Facebook post read almost like a scavenger hunt, but the stakes in this hunt were much higher.

“Help! Dog stranded on Boulder at Cumberland Falls Park, McCreary County, Kentucky,” said John Olsen, reading part of the post out loud. “Go from parking, pass falls, and continue with the river on your left over a steep hill for about ten minutes and partly back down toward the river.”

That post captured the attention of hundreds of people, including John Olsen.

“I waited till morning. I got no updates on the dog. I said, ‘The hell with it.’ I packed up my truck and was like, I’m going to head out there if I make it through and somebody has already got there and rescued her. Great. If not, I’ll do it.”

He filmed the search mission on his GoPro camera.

After hours of trekking through the snowy woods, he said he heard a bark. After a little more searching, there the pup was, shivering in a cave on a hillside with the freezing Cumberland River waters rushing below.

Thanks to other good samaritans who followed the pup’s paw prints and Olsen’s footsteps, they were able to get her out.

“When I found her alive, though, my heart jumped. I may have cried a little bit,” said Olsen. “As cold as it was, as snowy as it was, and more weather coming in, she wouldn’t have made it if somebody hadn’t gotten out there to her.”

After losing his two dogs in a 2023 fire, there wasn’t an option for Olsen except to find this dog.

“I think the biggest motivator for me was losing our dogs; I couldn’t do anything to save them. I was able to for her.”

Olsen named her Luna. While he rehabilitates Luna back to good health, he’s looking for her forever home, all while getting a foster rehab facility underway to help people who suffer from catastrophic pet loss. It’s called Samson’s Legacy Moonbow Bridge.

Anyone interested in adopting Luna is asked to contact Samson’s Legacy Moonbow Bridge or email pawtyexpress@gmail.com.