Great Dane puppy falls down 50-foot well and sparks rescue search
Wake County, North Carolina - It took firefighters from three North Carolina fire departments to rescue a puppy from the bottom of a 50-foot well. Amazingly, the dog was unscathed.
A Great Dane had a great fall!
Fire department officials from three counties pulled an adventurous eleven-month-old puppy named Mudge out of a well on Saturday.
Mudge's owner Janine Haldene told WRAL News that the old well was covered with "barbed wire and a layer of leaves."
According to Janine, her two dogs, Mudge and Moonshine, love to run along the trails the family created on their property, but "they always come back."
Janine's son Henry sounded the alarm when Moonshine appeared without Mudge.
Rescuing the Great Dane puppy becomes huge operation
After Janine's son Henry alerted his family, they started searching for the missing puppy.
They soon heard Mudge barking for help, which helped the family find her in the old well. They quickly called 911.
Firefighters from Cary, Fairview, and Swift Creek answered the call. It took hours to pull the 110-pound pooch from the well.
The firefighters had to use special equipment, and one first responder had to be lowered down into the hole to put a harness on the dog. Luckily, their rescue mission was successful.
"To have her come out and… lick the guy’s face that pulled her out of the hole, like, wow. It was really special," Janine gushed.
"They did all of this for my dog, and she is part of our family, truly, so God bless them," she added.
A vet on site examined Mudge and found the dog only had a tiny scratch on her ankle - making her one lucky puppy.
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshots/Facebook/Fairview Rural Fire Department