Hero Dog Guides Saviors To His Injured Owner Following 70-Foot Fall from Tahoe Cliff

A dog is being called a real-life Lassie after the pet helped the Nevada Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team (NCSSAR) to its injured owner, who fell 70 feet off a ridge in Tahoe National Forest.

According to an NCSSAR Facebook post, a 53-year-old man and his border collie Saul were camping in the Tahoe National Forest on Wednesday when the man fell off a 70-foot ridge, fracturing his hip and several ribs.

CalFire received an initial call about an injured camper and reached out to the NCSSAR team for help. NCSSAR sent 25 volunteer searchers into the Tahoe National Forest to find the ailing dog's owner. NCSSAR volunteers found the man on the first day of the search but credited Saul for the rescue.

"True credit goes to the subject's k9 Border Collie that ran through the forest approximately 200 yards and in true 'LASSIE' fashion to flag down two searchers and led them back to the subject,"

NCSSAR wrote on Facebook.

As soon as the rescuers, led by Saul, reached the injured man, they carefully carried him out of the forest, after which the rescue helicopter took the dog's owner to the hospital for treatment. The next day, Saul was reunited with the owner he had helped save.

During their split, Saul was treated to a "well-deserved" dinner and spent the night at a local animal shelter, according to NCSSAR.