Romney resident Melissa Axel risked her life to save her sons’ dog Rocky after he went over a steep cliff following last week’s blizzard. Shown with sons Brayden Doman and Noah Riggleman, as well as Shannon Doman, Axel is lucky to be alive after she also fell between 150-200 feet down the same cliff and was rescued by volunteer firefighters who rapelled down to reach her — after which she was taken by a Maryland medical helicopter to an area hospital.
ROMNEY — Melissa Axel could have easily lost her life plunging over a snowy cliff trying to rescue her two young sons’ dog – but it was a risk she willingly took to make them happy again.
She fell late Wednesday afternoon after getting too close to a local spot known as Yellow Banks, where she’d scooted closer to get a better look at family pet Rocky, a 10-year-old boxer who’d also accidentally slipped over the embankment only to be stuck below-leaving behind a trail of paw prints and some blood.
The fact that it was almost dusk, didn’t help matters.
“I was hollering and hollering for him. But because it was such a steep cliff, I thought he was hurt badly or he was dead. So I inched my way down a little bit and that’s when I could see him a little bit,” she said.
When he moved his ear slightly at the sound of her voice, Axel went into full rescue mode without regard for her own safety.
“The only thing that came into my mind was my kids, because I knew this would make them so excited. All I could think was that he was down there, really down there. And I started crying because there was a bunch of blood around him,” she said.
“So I began inching my way down by holding onto a tree to see him a little bit better,” she said, despite warnings from Shannon Doman – her childrens’ father and also a local volunteer fireman- to stay back until help could arrive after he’d called 911 about the trapped dog.
Before he could say anything else, everything changed.
“I went to take a step, and I slipped. And when I went down the bank, thankfully God was with me because I really don’t remember anything after I began to fall,” she said.
That’s for the best because Doman told her she had looked like a limp, rag doll falling down the steep embankment and coming to rest short of the South Branch of the Potomac River, Axel said.
In the end, Romney Volunteer Fire Department firemen had to rappel down the cliff to secure the pair before they were airlifted to an area hospital in a medical helicopter that had been sent from Maryland.
The accident happened about 4:30 p.m., and Axel was home before midnight which is even more incredible because of her existing medical problems that include psoriatic arthritis and recent back surgery.
“It was all about my boys, and from there the adrenaline just took over. It’s true what they say because you do what you have to,” she said.
Even though Axel is still banged up, bruised and sore- as well as having received six stitches for a gash in her right hand- she is focusing on the kindness shown by the three volunteer firefighters who put their lives on the line during the rope rescue.
“I leaned up against Wes, and then James Hartman secured the dog to a tree as Willie Smith hoisted himself down toward the river. They made it possible to get me into the medivac basket, and then I was lifted up into the air about 350 feet,” she said,
Out of every bad situation comes some good, said Axel, who’s now able to joke about how this was her first plane ride- and the fact that a 50-pound dog named Rocky wasn’t very good scaling the steep, rocky bank.
“Rocky kind of liked being airlifted, because he was really good and jumped up in the basket where he just stayed – he didn’t flinch or move at all. And when they got him up on the bank, he was excited and jumping up on everyone,” Axel said, adding that the dog’s left leg was bandaged due to a cut above his paw.
Looking back, Axel also credits motherly love and guardian angels – a deceased uncle and cousin who were devoted to public service – for getting her through this ordeal.
“The only thing that was in my head was my son’s birthday, and knowing the big smiles I would see on their faces when they got their dog back after I rescued him and brought him home,” she said.
Later, she realized just how lucky she’d been.
“The fire department guys said that when they get calls like mine it is very rare that when they get down there that the person is breathing, so I am definitely blessed to be alive and only have the injuries I do. It’s kind of funny, but the dog is in better condition than I am and he had the same fall as me,” Axel said.
It was also difficult when her oldest son talked about how worried he’d been about losing her, she said, adding, “It took all I had in me to not just start crying in front of him.”
However, the good news is that family’s reunion was everything she’d imagined, complete with plenty of smiles, hugs and kisses for Rocky from her sons Noah, who celebrated his seventh birthday last week and 3-year-old Brayden.
“Brayden was trying to ride Rocky like a horse, just like he always does,” she said with a chuckle.
Rocky got into the act with lots of tail wagging, and “licking us in the face because that’s the way he usually gives us kisses,” Axel said.
Fire Chief G.T. Parsons praised his firefighters and their ability to react professionally under pressure.
“We usually have a rope rescue about once a year, so we train off and on all year long for something like this incident. They repelled down the face of the cliff to her, and were able to assess her from there. We have certain guys who are rope rescue trained, and then we also have groundsmen who also assist,” he said.
Other agencies assisting on scene included Romney City Rescue Squad, Springfield Valley Volunteer Fire Department, Romney City Police, Hampshire County Sheriff’s Department and West Virginia State Police.
An account – entitled Benefit for Melissa Axel -has been set up at the Bank of Romney to accept financial donations to help with medical bills from this accident and her existing physical problems.
Staff writer Jenni Vincent can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 131, and www.twitter.com/jennivincentwv.