BEDFORD, Va. – A happy ending after a dog was reunited with its owner after falling down a sinkhole!
Bedford Fire Department said they responded to a report of a “dog in a hole” around noon on Sunday and found the owner standing above a sinkhole. The owner stated that the dog is on the older side and has hearing and vision problems, but is not aggressive.
The sinkhole was about 7 feet deep, and no animal control was on duty. So Fire Chief Todd Stone made a cinch attached to the end of a 6-foot pole, while the R1 crew slowly (and carefully) opened up the hole more. They managed to get the rope around the dog and were able to pull it out of the hole.
“The dog was fine was fine, wasn’t injured at all,” Stone told 10 News. The family was happy we were able to rescue the dog and we were relieved it went so smoothly.”
Stone said the family did the right thing by calling 911 and reporting the incident and by not trying to enter the hole themselves to rescue the dog.
“I think there was a potential for further collapse which could have injured some other people there if they had tried to rescue the dog themselves,” Stone said. “We’re used to that. We trained for that kind of rescue.”
Stone said the experience prompted him to purchase a cinch device for the department to use in case of future animal rescues.