Abby, a 13-year-old dog poodle mix, ran away from home with Summer, the family’s other dog, in early June. Only Summer returned, but it was unclear what happened to Abby.
Abby’s family lives in the rural area near Perryville in eastern Missouri, where it was common to see dogs exploring and running in the fields. They played for a while and came back, but this time it didn’t happen.
Jeff Bohnert worried about his elderly dog and announced his disappearance on Facebook, contacted neighbors and went to the police station, but nobody knew anything about Abby. Days and weeks passed and her hopes began to fade.
Missing senior dog found deep in cave
The man told the Washington Post that Abby is never separated from Summer.
He said:
Only one dog came to the house. He’s very close to Summer, so I knew something was wrong when she didn’t come back. It was sad to hear that she was missing.
Two months later, on August 6, Gerry Keene, who was on a caving trip in Missouri with a small group of people including several children, noticed the skinny little dog deep in a cave, with matted fur, which curled up on a slab of cold rock, too weak to wag his tail or make a sound.
The dog was 150 meters underground and it was not known how long he had been trapped there.
Although Gerry encountered some creatures during his underground travels, such as fish and amphibians, what he never expected to find was a dog.
He said, according to The Washington Post:
We realized it would be difficult to get her out as she was too weak to walk.
Gerry took a photo of the dog in order to find the family, he showed them to the inhabitants close to the area, to see if anyone knew her.
Meanwhile, Rick Haley, an assistant fire chief and avid caving enthusiast with 30 years’ experience, who was nearby and heard there was a dog inside the cave that needed help. to be rescued, offered to venture out into the dark again with Gerry and help.
Rick said:
It’s unclear how long he’s been there, but we knew we had to get him out. If we didn’t get her out, she would die there. It would be a tough vertical climb to get it out. But we were prepared for it.
They knew there was only one way to get the weak little dog out of the place, and that was to come down and pick him up. She wouldn’t have the strength to move on her own for so many meters and in such narrow cavities.
One of the residents recognized Abby, a neighbour’s dog who went missing on June 9. Now, these men’s motivation to get Abby out of the cave had grown, as there was a family waiting for her at home.
The men grabbed a duffel bag and put Abby inside, bringing her to the surface, but it wouldn’t be an easy task. After traversing small spaces, through narrow tunnels, the dog was relaxed, perhaps because she knew she was being rescued.
It took them an hour to get Abby out of the cave, and once on the surface, her grateful owner rushed to find her to bring her home. He said a neighbor alerted him to the photo Gerry took.
The man was completely shocked after learning where Abby had been found and at such depth.
She looked very weak, but thanks to the water in the cave, Abby was able to survive. Her family bathed her and fed her bit by bit to get her stomach used to food again, and although she wasn’t quite strong yet, the dog recovered satisfactorily.
Abby even adapts to everything, including taking short walks with Summer and Fuzzy, the family cat, and seems happy to have them back.
The family is very grateful to Gerry and Rick for all they have done for Abby, and they are also very happy to have been there to help.
It’s unclear what happened that day that Abby went missing, it’s speculated that she may have chased an animal into the cave or was suddenly swept away by a flood, but the The truth is that the family now just wants to make up for lost time with Abby, and they’ll be more vigilant that the mischievous senior dog doesn’t get involved in another incident.
Images: The Washington Post – Rick Haley – Gerry Keene (AP)
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