Rita the dog had a lucky escape after a possum chase led her to scale a tree two storeys high and she became stuck on a limb of the tree.

The unusual rescue needed the skills of an arborist and a firefighter to coax the pooch off her “precarious” perch 8m off the ground where she had become stranded.

Photos from the rescue show the mixed-breed dog perched eight metres up the tree on her family’s Riverhead property.

Rita’s owner Karina said she was “very possum-driven” but had never done anything like this to secure her prey.

She said her daughters ran inside yesterday afternoon as Rita started her ascent and when she got outside Rita was already nearly at the top of the large tree.

Rita the dog had to be rescued from a tree after she climbed eight metres high to chase a possum.

“And by the time [my husband] and I got there, she was almost all as high as she could go and we were yelling at her to leave the possum.

“The possum was still there and absolutely terrified.”

She said her husband immediately stood underneath their pet in case she fell as Karina ran to grab a ladder, but they soon realised they would need professional help.

Karina said Rita was stuck in her “precarious” position for 45 minutes, shaking and whimpering.

“We thought we would be taking a trip to the vet and she would have several broken bones.”

The owner of Hardfell Aborists, Shaun Hardman, said he was called by the Kumeu Volunteer Fire Brigade to help with Rita’s rescue.

“I was initially a bit shocked because normally we rescue cats.”

Rita's owner Karina said she had not learnt her lesson and tried to climb the tree again once she was rescued.

He said the firefighters had put a stretcher to catch Rita if she fell, but they needed his harness to safely bring her back down.

“I harnessed on and just held her... I carried her down and walked back down the ladder with my rope system tied in.

“And then as soon as [Rita] got down, you know, she acted like nothing happened and was trying to pick up the scent of the possum again, which was still in the tree.”

Karina said Rita was usually shy around new people but seemed grateful to her rescuers and “gave everyone a cuddle”.

She said the pooch was relatively unfazed by the ordeal and even attempted to the climb the tree again.

She said Rita was quickly tied up to stop any more daring tree climbs before the possum was shot and Rita got to collect it.

“Maybe she will learn she can get possums from the ground,” Karina said.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.