A missing dog was rescued from a foxhole with tools normally used to save earthquake victims.
Four-year-old cocker spaniel Ivy had been missing four days when a passer-by heard yelps coming from deep inside a fox hole in woods behind Well Street, Burghclere, on July 28. After raising the alarm the fire service dispatched its urban search and rescue team, who have recently been working in Japan and New Zealand.
And with the service’s animal rescue expert Buster Brown and the RSPCA at the scene the team set about rescuing the petrified pooch. Mr Brown leaned into the hole and shone a torch down it. Using a mirror he was able to see Ivy’s nose.
But to find out more about how Ivy was trapped, Mr Brown used specialist search and rescue equipment. He then fed a flexible wire search camera into the hole and listening devices, pinpointing the dog’s exact location.
Fire service spokeswoman Caroline Foley said: “Ivy had been trapped in the tight tunnel by her hips and her front legs were underneath her chest making it impossible for her to claw her way forwards. Crews set to work to dig Ivy out but it was very important to be able to monitor her whilst the digging continued to ensure she was not injured by the tools.”
The team took about two hours to reach the dehydrated dog. Mr Browen gave her some water before cutting away the soil beneath her, slowly releasing her. She was then taken by the RSPCA to the vets and kept in overnight on before being given back to her family.
Ms Foley said the drama is an example of how to react if people find trapped animals. “Any animal, small or large, that is trapped or in distress can be potentially dangerous,” she said. “It is important to try and keep the animal calm and humans away, and request the immediate assistance of specialists to rescue the animal.”
