A family from High Springs, Florida, had a fear of their life when a leisurely walk turned into a nightmare. They were going through a wooded property when their dog, Sammy, suddenly rushed ahead of them then seemingly disappeared in a flash. Then, they heard their dog crying with the sound coming from underneath. They carefully moved to the sound location, and to their surprise, they found a pet dog stuck in deep sinkhole.
The Labrador mix fell into the sinkhole, which was around 40 feet deep. Unable to help the dog themselves, they called for emergency services and stood near the edge of the hole, waiting for help to arrive.
Firefighters to the rescue
Emergency personnel from the Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to the call and immediately went to the rescue. Because the sinkhole was deep, they had to use two ladders to get to the dog. Lt. Brian Ferguson bravely set one ladder to a stable area by the wall then went down. From there, he used another ladder to get to the bottom. Aside from the ladders, Brian also had another essential tool. He brought with him bacon to help establish trust with the scared dog.
When he finally was able to get the dog to go to him, the firefighter put a muzzle on Sammy to protect themselves on the way up. Brian carried the dog, who weighed around 80 pounds. Slowly, they ascended the two ladders on the way to safety. Once they were up, the dog ran to his family once it was on solid ground.
Thankfully, the dog didn’t suffer any injuries.
Sinkholes
There had been a lot of sinkholes in the area due to heavy rains. The water softened the ground, and the added weight caused it to sink. Before the dog’s rescue, a couple riding in an ATV fell into a different sinkhole in the same area. You catch the video of the daring rescue by clicking the link below.
Source: Alachua County via Facebook