Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/dewey-cave-rescue/
A dog in Indiana was rescued and reunited with its owner after falling into a 30-foot-deep cave and spending two weeks there.
Recreational repellers at the Dewey Hickman Nature Preserve happened to notice an animal at the bottom of a cave and got closer to investigate. What they found was a half-starved black and white dog trapped at the bottom!
Thankfully, they had the gear to repel the 30 feet down and help the poor dog. Once they got to the bottom, they were able to reach the dog and safely get him out of the deep cave.
According to SWNS, the group, led by experienced caver Tray Heinke, was searching for the perfect cave for a proposal to take place, but they found something much more valuable: a living dog in need of help.
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According to a Facebook post shared by the Harrison County Animal Control of Corydon Indiana, the repellers who saved the dog contacted animal control about the situation and they were able to step in and take over.
They nicknamed the pup “Dewey” after the park he was found in and speculated that he’d fallen into the cave around two weeks prior and had survived by drinking rainwater that’d puddled in a turtle shell at the bottom of the cave.
Heinke and the others who found Dewey thought his collar may have caught on a branch halfway down before he eventually wiggled free and fell the rest of the way. They found scratch marks on the wall of the cave halfway down, suggesting he spent time there.
SWNS reported that while the dog was alive and seemingly ok after the incident, he had lost around 86lbs in the two weeks he’d been down there.
Dewey was being rehabilitated with the Harrison County Animal Control when someone contacted them saying that Dewey was actually Hawkeye, a dog that’d gone missing two weeks prior.
According to WLKY, Hawkeye’s owner explained that he’d let the dog out for a bathroom break and he took off into the woods. Apparently, he fell into the cave shortly after leaving his owner and was trapped there – which explains why he didn’t return home.
After confirming that Dewey was, in fact, Hawkeye and his owner had the proper proof of ownership, the two were able to have a touching reunion. Hawkeye went home with his owner and is hopefully putting on plenty of weight and getting back into the swing of life at home.
Watch the video below of his rescue:
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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
