As the saying goes, a dog is a man’s best friend. And as their best friends, that means, for many men, bringing their dogs with them wherever they go – even if it’s BASE jumping off a 13,000-foot cliff. No, it’s not some bizarre new suicide ritual, but that’s what legendary adventurer Dean Potter did with his dog, Whisper. National Geographic profiled Potter in a feature story about adrenaline junkies, and posted a short video excerpt that shows Potter doing a BASE jump with Whisper in tow.
According to Nat Geo, Potter, 42, hails from Yosemite, Calif. and has been participating in extreme sports for more than 20 years. From mountain climbing to BASE jumping, Potter has pretty much done it all, so he wanted to explore his fantasy of performing a jump with his dog.
Whisper is a four-year-old Australian Cattle Dog that has faithfully been at Potter’s side through many hikes and climbs, but this is the first time she got to truly understand what her owner experiences when he performs his death-defying jumps. Using a wing-suit and a backpack pet carrier equipped with many safety straps, Potter and Whisper soar majestically through the skies after jumping from the 13,025-foot Eiger Mountain in Switzerland. Potter recorded the in-flight videos of Whisper with a GoPro cam attached to his helmet.
The flight and the landing were both pretty smooth – Potter is a pro, of course. After leaving the carrier, an excited Whisper jumps all over Potter’s girlfriend as if to say, “That was so much fun, I wanna go again!”
Of course, the stunt has already garnered some negative responses, with some people suggesting what Potter did was animal cruelty.
Read more about Potter and his “flying dog” Whisper in this Q&A with National Geographic.
(Via Picture Correct)
