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Vet: 'It's A Miracle' Dog Survived Car Crash Over Cliff

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PENN HILLS (KDKA) -- They say only cats have nine lives, but a 7-year-old pit bull named Boss may be the exception.

Boss was in a vehicle when the driver, identified as Timothy Hill, plunged 150 feet over a hillside at Grove and Lincoln roads in Penn Hills on Friday.

Both Hill and Boss were able to get out of the vehicle, but it took first responders hours to rescue them from the ravine.

penn hills car over embankment
(Photo Credit: Penn Hills No.7 VFC/Facebook)

Witnesses say Hill was driving at a high rate of speed down Grove Road when he went through a stop sign and crashed into a garage, pushing a boat and a trailer into the ravine.

"It's not a hillside. I mean, it's not a hill, it's a cliff, and he went airborne," neighbor Darryl Rankin said.

Responders and paramedics worked their way down with ropes, eventually rescuing Boss and Hill with a vertical lift.

penn hills dog hillside rescue
(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Boss, the "miracle dog," was taken to an animal hospital in Monroeville.

"He's a little bit sore in his hips, but I think that was probably already there because he's barely even limping," Dr. Joana Goic at Avets Emergency Hospital said. "No internal injuries. He's happy. He's eating. It's a miracle that he's doing so well."

penn hills boss
(Photo Credit: KDKA)

On Saturday, Boss was walking outside on the hospital grounds like it never happened.

"Boss is such a lucky dog. He's had very minor injuries. It's a miracle. It really is, that he was able to survive," Goic said.

Police are still investigating, trying to figure out why and how the crash happened.

Meanwhile, the hospital says it's trying to reach Boss's owner.

"We haven't been able to contact the owner yet. We do have their information because Boss has been here before, so we are trying to get ahold of him or any family members to come take Boss home," Goic said.

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