A border collie fell into a 10-foot-deep sinkhole near Chiefland, Florida, last Friday, triggering a two-hour rescue effort that required a mini excavator, hand tools and a phone call to technical rescue specialists before the dog was finally pulled free. The dog walked away without any apparent injuries, according to officials.
Chiefland Fire received the call about the trapped dog at approximately 5:55 a.m. on October 16, per the department, as reported by FOX 32 Chicago. The sinkhole opened up in the area of 8138 NW 77th Place, and according to wcjb.com, it was located near Tradewinds Farm in Levy County. Chiefland sits roughly 30 miles southwest of Gainesville.
First responders arrived with Engine 71, Fire 71 and two volunteers, and the county road department also took part in the effort, the station's report notes. Crews on scene contacted technical rescue for a phone consultation as they worked out how to safely reach the dog at the bottom of the pit.
Excavator Stalls on Lime Rock, Crews Dig by Hand
Jones Masonry, a local concrete contractor, provided a mini excavator to help crews dig into the sinkhole, per Chiefland Fire. But heavy lime rock stopped the excavator from digging deeper, forcing rescue crews to chip away at the rock manually with tools, as detailed by fox35orlando.com. As rescuers got closer, the border collie jumped toward the top of the pit.
Accounts of the exact rescue moment differ slightly. The same Fox 35 report states the dog's owner called out to her and managed to grab hold, pulling her out of the sinkhole at around 8:19 a.m., while the earlier wcjb.com account says the dog was able to jump out into her owner's arms, with the rescue completed just before 8:30 a.m. Either way, the dog was uninjured, in good spirits and running around after the rescue, according to Chiefland Fire.
Cause of the Sinkhole Remains Unconfirmed
Chiefland Fire and the Levy County road department expressed gratitude to Jones Masonry for supplying the excavator that helped make the rescue possible. Officials have not confirmed what caused the sinkhole to form near the roadway, and it remains unknown whether any structural repairs are needed for the surrounding property, per the fox35orlando.com account.
Sinkholes like this one aren't unusual in Florida's limestone-heavy terrain. The Florida Geological Survey maintains a database of reported subsidence incidents, though it notes that most entries have not been verified by professionals. The agency also says reported incidents tend to cluster in populated areas, where they commonly affect roads and dwellings.
This isn't the first Florida pet rescue of its kind. Firefighters previously pulled a female dog named Lada from a sinkhole at a home in northwest Marion County, according to fox35orlando.com. That sinkhole was about 4 feet wide and several feet deep, and crews responded shortly before noon on a Wednesday, completing the rescue in about 45 minutes with no injuries to people or pets. Officials said at the time it was unclear how Lada got loose and became trapped, a detail that echoes the open questions still surrounding the Chiefland incident.
