Keara’s fiance Barry Robison, a chef, rushed from his work to join the search still wearing his slip-on kitchen clog shoes.
Barry caught sight of Boris perched precariously on a ledge about 20ft from the top of the cliff at Muchalls, Aberdeenshire, where he’d fallen.
Then, as Barry stood at the rocks below shouting to Boris to stay put, Boris twitched, lost his footing and hurtled all the way down to sea level – a sheer drop of around 75ft.
The impact knocked poor Boris, who weighs 20kg, unconscious.
On arrival, Boris’s eyes were rolling and he was clearly in a lot of pain, leading his owners and the vets to fear he had multiple fractures.
To their astonishment though, a full body scan revealed bruising to his tummy and tail but not a single broken bone.
And, after an overnight stay at the vets, a drowsy but otherwise fine Boris was able to walk out on his own four legs and travel back with Keara and Barry to their house, a short stroll from the cliffs.
Barry, 31, head chef at the Copthorne Hotel in Aberdeen, said: “By the time I got there, Keara and her mum had looked in most places where we thought Boris might be.
“The tide was out so I went down to the beach to call his name and out of the corner of my eye I saw the blue jumper we put on Boris when it’s cold.
“He’d obviously fallen when he went into the bush at the top – and landed on the ledge. Then he fell again – right in front of me.
“I reckon he’s fallen 75ft to sea level and another 20ft or so before that when he fell to the ledge.
“It was awful seeing him fall. I threw myself to the left to try to catch him but I was too late. I managed to get a hand to him but he landed between two rocks.
“The impact knocked him out and I thought then that we’d lost him.”
The cliff at Muchalls, Aberdeenshire, where Boris fell
Keara, 28, who works for a housing association, said: “We walk on that path all the time and we’ve never had a problem.
“It’s a gorse bush where Boris went in for a pee. I think what’s happened is that the bush has been growing over the edge of the cliff and the ground has just given way.
“When he didn’t come out, I thought he must have run off behind me or without me noticing. I never thought he would have fallen down.
“Boris weighs 20 kilos so it was a fair slog for Barry to carry him limp and unconscious back up the path to the top of the cliff in his chef’s shoes.”
Barry, who adopted Boris six and a half years ago after his previous owner abandoned him aged six months, said: “The vets were as surprised as we were. It’s a miracle Boris is still here.
“Boris is a bit of a poser really and you’d never know he’d had such a close escape. When you take out your phone to take a picture of him you see him getting all excited and wagging his tail.
“He’s a very bold character and we reckon he probably enjoyed all the attention at the vets.”
Boris' owners Keara Watson and her fiance Barry Robison
Corrie Dean, principal nurse manager at Vets Now in Aberdeen, said: “Boris is an extremely lucky boy.
“To fall from a cliff that high and walk out of the clinic the following morning is quite amazing.
“When he came in he was hunched over with a stiff gait but, incredibly, he was responsive to stimulation and his surroundings.
“After checking him over we discovered he had bruising on his abdomen and the surface of his tail but there were no open wounds.
“We placed him on a drip and gave him painkilling medication but he did very well overnight and went home to some much-needed cuddles from his owners.
“We’re delighted to hear he’s continuing his recovery.”
Principal nurse manager Corrie Dean, one of the veterinary staff at Vets Now in Aberdeen who treated Boris
Keara added: “I’m just grateful we’ve got him back. He’s still on painkillers and a bit more sleepy than normal – otherwise he’s back to the playful Boris we know and love.
“But I can tell you this: it will be a while until we go back to that cliff path.
“In all seriousness, I’d say to other pet owners to be really careful on cliff walks – what looks like solid ground can just give way under your pet’s feet.”
Miracle as dog plunges 100ft down cliff and suffers only bruises
Dog fell 100ft off a cliff when he went for a pee and stunned emergency vets by not breaking a single bone. Amazing Staffie Boris was described as lucky.
