A dog was left stranded on a ledge for almost 10 hours before being rescued from cliffs at the southern end of Waihi Beach.

The incident happened on Monday after Zac the poodle set off on his usual morning walk towards the cliffs above Bowentown Beach with owner John Carey.

Zac the poodle was rescued after spending almost 10 hours stranded on a cliff-side ledge. Photos: Coastguard Waihi Beach, via Facebook.

Despite taking a familiar route, the dog is understood to have caught the scent of something before running off through the bush and disappearing.

The dramatic rescue got underway at around 7am after Zac was located on a ledge about 30 metres above the sea following a widespread search involving Waihi Beach surf lifesaving club and the local coastguard.

'We didn't know where he had gone,” John's wife Kay told the Waikato Times. 'He was missing, we thought he may have ended up in the sea.”

On their final sweep of the area, lifeguards spotted the black dog perched precariously above the waves, where he would spend almost 10 hours without food or water.

'He must have skidded down off the cliff on his backside, landing on a ledge,” added Kay.

'It was a miracle really, he could of gone off into the sea. We could see him, but we thought ‘how are we going to get to him'?”

The unscathed poodle was eventually reunited with its owner when a team from Newmont Mine Rescue were called in with specialist abseiling equipment.

A rope system was quickly utilised and rescuer Troy Hargreaves, complete with dog treats and water, finally reached Zac before taking the dog to Anzac Bay via an IRB.

After an emotional reunion, Kay added: 'I think I'm still in shock that we got him back, we owe so many people thank-yous.

'It's just so amazing how many people helped look for him.”