Dean Potter is one of the premier adventurers of this generation. His rock climbing, slacklining, and wingsuit-BASE jumping exploits have brought him great acclaim. For his latest stunt, however, Potter is receiving a lot of criticism.
At the Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Potter unveiled a trailer for his short film When Dogs Fly that shows him doing a wingsuit BASE jump with his dog, Whisper, strapped to his back. Potter defended his actions on his blog, outlining the steps he took to insure Whisper's safety (goggles, harness, carabiners, climbing rope):
I want you all to know that I do not force Whisper to do anything she
doesn’t want to do. When we wake up in the morning, if Whisper wants
to stay at home or camp, she is free to do so. This has never happened
though and she always nips and yips at our heels and prods us to hop
to it and get going.
Last summer when I was wingsuit BASE-jumping with Whisper she never
once didn’t want to come along. In fact, whenever I put on my wingsuit
or pack my parachute, little Whisper nestles close and begs to come
along.
That hasn't stopped people from saying that Potter's actions amount to animal cruelty. "What sort of sick person puts an animal at risk like that?" read one comment on YouTube. Another said, "I'm not one of those kooky animal rights types but why on earth would you do this? Dogs hate heights, and they hate falling. This is very selfish attention seeking behavior."
Do you think Potter should have BASE jumped with his dog? Tell us in the Comments.
