After a terrible two months, a dog who has been abandoned hundreds of feet underground has finally been reunited with her family. Early in June, Abby, a 13-year-old senior dog, vanished from her Missouri, US, home, leaving her frightened owners to wonder if she had vanished forever, writes ilovemydogsomuch
A sick pup was discovered on August 6 by a small group of cavers who were exploring the Berome Moore cave in Perry County. The pup was stuck 500 feet below the surface. They started a complicated rescue operation to get her out as soon as they called the local fire department and members of the Cave Research Foundation.
One of the cavers, 66-year-old teacher Rick Haley, noticed Abby and said that she was “not in good shape,” so he set out a duffel bag, opened it, and placed Abby inside with “her head hanging out.” He explained: “This was to protect her and the rescuers as she will undoubtedly struggle” in a Facebook post.
They began preparing for ways to get Abby to the surface after Rick discovered that she was underweight and weak but didn’t seem to be wounded.
Gerry Keene, a fellow cave diver, and Abby were raised by squeezing and wriggling through tight spaces. Both men have received specialized training in cave rescue.
She was completely compliant as we took her 500 feet to a very tight, uncomfortable steep ascent and handed her hand to hand upward to the surface.
A second caver knocked on doors while holding a picture of the dog to try and find her owner for the duration of the procedure, which took around an hour.
Because they had reported Abby missing on June 9, they were “astonished” to hear she was still alive. As a result, she may have been buried alive for nearly two months.
The cherished dog was “glad to get out” despite being a little shook up and is now returning to her former self.
If all 30 of those cavers had been present, you would have found 30 individuals assisting this rescue, according to Rick, who happened to be one of the only persons on the surface when the rescue was necessary.He claimed that while the exact circumstances of how Abby got so far inside the cave remain unknown, it is possible that she fell into an aperture when following a tiny animal and sank further because of the floods brought on by the severe rains.
