Tomata waterfall kayakers in Veracruz, Mexico spotted a stranded black pup perched on a mossy rock shelf beneath the 60-foot Tomata 1 drop. Using ropes and kayaks, Paul Palmer and his expert crew rerouted their adventure to stage a dramatic rescue. “Yeah, you are my lifeline here,” Palmer recalled after coaxing the trembling dog for nearly an hour.

After rappelling into the gorge and paddling a 7-foot drop with the soaked pup balanced on his sprayskirt, Palmer and his team passed the dog hand-over-hand up a cliff, watched by astonished locals. “If we fell, we were running Tomata 2 without a boat,” Palmer said, underscoring the wild stakes.

The rescued pup, later named Tomata, had survived a 60-foot fall—her only way into the gorge—before being carried out by kayakers using quick-release cords as a makeshift leash.