Dog falls 100 feet off cliff before landing in icy Michigan river. Then it got lucky

What is arguably the world’s clumsiest — and maybe luckiest — family dog was saved this week from a river in central Michigan.

His name is Cody and sometime on Tuesday he stumbled over a cliff, falling 100 feet and landing somewhere along the freezing Muskegon River, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

It happened near Newaygo, a town in central Michigan about 30 miles north of Grand Rapids, the department posted Thursday on Facebook.

Someone notified the department Wednesday morning that Cody went “missing” in the area, an understatement given the circumstances.

That’s when state Conservation Officer Jeff Ginn launched a patrol boat into the river to undertake what seemed like a lost cause, officials said. Not only was the fall potentially fatal, but AccuWeather reports temperatures fell to 26 degrees overnight.

Still, Cody surprised everyone.

“About one hour later, Officer Ginn located Cody, cold and wet, and transported him back to the patrol truck,” the department posted. “Cody was able to warm up and be happily reunited with his family.”

A photo shared by the department showed Cody wrapped in a blanket, sitting in the front seat of the truck. The department did not say if he suffered injuries and didn’t identity the owners.

More than 4,500 people have reacted to the state’s post, with many among the nearly 200 commenters expressing a mix of gratitude for the rescue and disbelief at the mishap.

“One hundred foot cliff?? Really? How did the dog fall off? ... Crazy story,” one man asked.

This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 9:52 AM with the headline "Dog falls 100 feet off cliff before landing in icy Michigan river. Then it got lucky."