PORTSMOUTH -- Knowing that the victim had fallen 30 feet of a cliff onto a rocky outcropping below, Portsmouth firefighters weren't sure what injuries they would encounter once they reached him.

The fact that all the victim could do was bark at them didn't help.

Portsmouth fire crews had a memorable rescue this Memorial Day weekend, after successfully reuniting with its owners a dog that fell 30 feet off a cliff on Peirce Island Sunday evening.

“It's not something we do every day, that's for sure,” said Portsmouth Fire Capt. Mike Hogan.

Hogan said the dog's owners called around 6:38 p.m. Sunday to report their dog, a Labrador mix, had fallen off one of the rocky cliffs along Peirce Island.

A Portsmouth firefighter entered the water and swam to the dog, and slowly approached it and securely attach himself to it. The firefighter (who Hogan did not identify) and dog then paddled together 75 feet down shore until a boat could safely reach them both.

The dog was later reunited with its owners.