Any dog owner knows that a pup’s curiosity and enthusiasm can get it into a lot of trouble, but there are so many occasions where those traits can also make the difference between life and death for others.
Because with that curiosity comes a strong willingness to help those they see in need and their enthusiasm has rescued other dogs , babies , and even entire families from perilous situations.
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Add that to the fact that most dogs have keener senses than us and you’ve got a recipe for an animal who can resolve problems that the humans around it wouldn’t even know about.
Although the rescue of one Illinois can be described as a team effort, nobody else in that team would have any reason to assemble if it wasn’t for one smart, courageous, and observant chocolate lab.
By February 12, a golden retriever named Macy had already been missing in Streator, Illinois for 24 hours.
According to People , rescuers would later become aware that this was because she had become trapped in a sinkhole in Marilla Park, which had been built over some old mines.
But they may never have found that out if it weren’t for one Labrador retriever named Wrigley.
Wrigley had come across Macy’s hole and seemed to know that her situation was alarming enough to alert his owner, but precarious enough that intervening on his own would be a bad idea.
As Streator Animal Control wrote in a Facebook post , “Wrigley very easily also could have fallen into the sink hole but luckily everything worked out!”
Once the dog showed his owner what was going on, they contacted the local fire department to mount what would turn out to be difficult rescue.
In a video uploaded to the Streator Fire Department’s Facebook page , Fire Chief Fred McClellan was shown trying to hoist Macy out of the hole, but he lost his footing as more ground broke away and the hole grew bigger.
In his words, “If you can see me falling. It was because the ground started to break on my one foot underneath, so I stepped across the hole to grab and then it collapsed again.”
Fortunately, not only was McClellan able to avoid falling into the hole, but engineer Tim Redd kept his grip on Macy’s harness and pulled her out.
And while Macy was obviously scared and muddy after her ordeal, she was found to be uninjured and in good health after being checked out by a veterinarian.
According to Streator Animal Control, she is now “doing well and resting.”
h/t: People
