A mischievous dog had a lucky escape when firefighters rescued her from a rabbit hole, after spending three days trapped underground.
Peter Budworth was devastated when his Patterdale bitch Jess went missing after chasing a squirrel in the woods near their home in Rilshaw Lane, Winsford on October 26.
Despite several attempts to find Jess, including blowing the feed whistle the pup usually responds to, Peter was unable to locate Jess, even though he could hear the 18-month-old making noises underground. There were so many rabbit holes it was impossible for Peter to find his dog.
Over the next couple of days Peter revisited the wood and began to fear the worst when he still couldn’t find Jess.
He said: “My wife and I visited the wood more than 20 times over the next couple of days trying to get Jess to come out. We even took Alfie, our other rescue Patterdale to see if he could track her down.
“I simply didn’t know what to do and had never been in a situation like this before. I’d given up all hope of finding her to be honest and had even gone across to say my goodbyes. It was just so upsetting for us all. Even Alfie could sense that something was wrong.”
Out of desperation, Peter phoned the RSPCA and an officer went out and called for the assistance of firefighters.
A crew from Winsford were sent to the scene just after 4pm on Wednesday, October 29 and when they heard the dog’s faint whimper they started to dig.
Firefighter Dave Matthias said: “It was really hard to work out exactly where Jess was in the series of rabbit holes and warrens. We took the chance started to dig but there were tree roots everywhere. Luckily Mr Budworth had cut away some of the undergrowth before we arrived, which made things a little easier.
“It was dark by this time and as we dug down, we kept stopping to listen for her sound. The crew just weren’t giving up on Jess and wanted her back safe with her owner.
“A small hole appeared in the wall of the clay and we started to dig in that direction. We shone a torch inside and we could see her eyes shining at the back of the hole. She appeared to be stuck so the hole was widened and I literally reached in and released her from the root system.”
Jess was then handed to Mr Budworth who took her home to safety.
Mr Budworth added: “The firefighters and the RSPCA did a great job and I am truly grateful to them. Jess is now on home detention curfew, although I hope that she has learnt her lesson.”
