Ruff rescue: Spelunkers save dog trapped in Missouri cave
A routine cave exploration in Missouri turned into a canine rescue mission when spelunkers encountered a missing dog who had somehow gotten trapped deep underground and couldn't get out.
Last weekend, a spelunking team led by experienced cavers Rick Haley and Gerry Keene entered the Tom Moore Cave system, a 24.5-mile underground labyrinth near Cape Girardeau, with the hope of mapping out some of the caves.
While Haley was investigating a sump pump, some of the kids in the group alerted him that they'd found a dog in a pitch-black area full of mud.
"The dog was not in good shape," Haley recalled on Facebook.
The team immediately notified the authorities, but while they waited for help, they snapped a picture of the dog and went door to door throughout the local area, looking for the owner.
"Which is hysterical because I’m wearing my cave gear and all muddy,” Keene said. “I must have looked like a hobo banging on people’s doors.”
The old-fashioned detective work paid off. They identified the owners, whose beloved 13-year-old pet Abby had gone missing on June 9.
“I pretty much knew right away that she probably wasn’t coming back or that she had been injured and couldn’t get back,” said owner Jeff Bohnert.
While the Bohnerts celebrated Abby's pending return, the spelunkers devised a plan to extract Abby from the cave. In order to protect themselves and Abby, they placed a blanket into a duffel bag and zipped Abby inside with her head kept free. Then, they began the rough task of inching her up to a two-foot opening in the cave.
"We moved her 500 feet to a very tight, awkward, vertical climb, handing her hand to hand upward to the surface," Haley wrote.
Though the area where Abby had been found was teeming with fish and crustaceans, it was also completely dark, which may have made finding food difficult. No one is quite sure how Abby survived or even how she wound up there in the first place, though heavy rain had recently pounded the area, leading to speculation that Abby may have been swept into the cave by flooding.
Whatever the cause of her disappearance, the Bohnerts are just grateful that she's been found. They have slowly reintroduced more and more food to Abby, who was "was skin and bones, emaciated," when she was found, according to Haley.
“Abby is recovering well,” Jeff Bohner said. “She’s still very thin, but she’s been eating well. She’s slowly getting back to a regular diet. She’s walking around and friendly. Looks like she’s going to make a full recovery.”
Here is a quick video recap of the "feel good story of survival," courtesy of KTVI-TV:
Mark Levin: DIABOLICAL dog breeding facility FINALLY ordered to close
Thousands of beagles have been released from a hellish prison and will soon be available for adoption.
After years of undercover investigations, the beagle breeding mill Envigo will finally close its doors. This company bred and sold animals for research. In this episode of LevinTV, Mark Levin brings this story to his audience. Like most civilized people, Mark is an avid dog lover, and he encourages Americans to help adopt these precious animals.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia has agreed to prohibit Envigo RMS from engaging in any activity at the Cumberland, VA facility ever again. Envigo must also surrender the remaining beagles to the Humane Society of the United States.
Back in May, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed five "beagle bills" which protect dogs and cats bred for research.
Watch the clip to see the whole story. Click here to read more from LevinTV.
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Cigar-smoking Florida hero describes courageously wresting his puppy from jaws of an alligator
The courageous Florida dog owner who rescued his puppy from the jaws of an alligator said he didn't think much about it and acted on instinct when he dove underwater after his dog.
Retiree Richard Wilbanks, 74, and his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Gunner, appeared on Fox News Monday for an interview about the dramatic rescue, which was captured on video and went viral over the weekend.
"We were just out for a Sunday morning stroll, and walking down by the edge of the pond," Wilbanks recounted to Fox News' Sandra Smith. "All of the sudden an alligator just came out from under the water and grabbed little gunner and had him back in the water and was swimming off with him."
"I just jumped in and got ahold of the alligator and drug [sic] him up to the bank and pried his jaws open and got him out," Wilbanks said.
Watch:
Cameras owned by the Florida Wildlife Federation filmed the incident, which took place just south of Fort Myers, Florida. Wilbanks was walking with Gunner by a pond when suddenly an alligator snatched the poor dog and dragged him underwater.
Wilbanks, who was smoking a cigar, jumped right in after his puppy and seized the alligator, fighting it for his dog's life.
"I didn't have a lot of time to think," Wilbanks told Fox News. "The instinct of saving Gunner because he's such a wonderful little puppy. I just wasn't gonna let that alligator have him."
Wilbanks managed to free Gunner from the gator's grasp, but his hands were chewed up in the process.
"I had a few little bunch of wounds on my hands," Wilbanks said. "After I got Gunner out of the alligator's mouth I had my hands stuck in there. I had to work them out."
The dog suffered a puncture wound and was in shock when Wilbanks, covered in his own blood, carried him home and surprised his wife. They rushed Gunner to the vet and Wilbanks went to the hospital for treatment.
Gunner has made a full recovery since the attack.
"He's such an amazing dog," Wilbanks told Fox News.
The cameras that caught the alligator attack and ensuing rescue were set up by the Florida Wildlife Federation and the fStop Foundation, KHOU-TV reports. Their purpose is to capture images of wildlife for people to appreciate as part of the "Share the Landscape" campaign.
"I would like to emphasize for people that have pets is to make sure that they keep them away from the edge of the water," the Florida Wildlife Federation's Meredith Budd said.
Wilbanks told KHOU-TV that he's keeping Gunner away from the water now and always on a leash.
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