A group of cavers in Virginia made a miraculous discovery Sunday when they found a dog that was still alive while exploring an underground cavern littered with animal skulls and bones.
Dave Jackson and Jesse Rochette of CaveSim, a Colorado-based educational cave simulator company, told The Associated Press that they were exploring Giant Cave with a local couple in the town of Narrows in Giles County when the first group began descending and found a dog.
“He said, ‘Wow! There’s a dog here!'” Rochette said. “And I asked if it was alive, and he said, ‘Yes!'”
Rochette said he carried a salami for his dog and then descended 40 to 50 feet into the funnel-shaped cavern.
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Jesse Rochette poses with Sparcy at the shelter in Pearisburg, Virginia. (Skyler Sojka/Giles County Animal Shelter via The Associated Press)
“She came right over and sucked up the salami and was very happy,” Rochette told the outlet.
The expedition quickly turned into a rescue mission, as the group wrapped the shivering dog in space blankets, foam padding and the hood of an old jacket they found in the cave.
Jackson said he always carries rescue equipment with him when he goes out, and he improvised a way to pull the dog out of the cave using what he had on hand, creating a dog harness out of a tarp and string and using a pulley system to pull the dog out, who was tied to Rochette.
“As soon as we walked through the edge of the hole into the fresh air, she perked up,” Rochette said. “She lifted her head and started sniffing the air.”
The rescue took about three hours, cavers said.
A group of cavers exploring western Virginia over the weekend rescued a dog that was found 40 to 50 feet below a cave, and a Giles County shelter is calling him a “living miracle.” (Skyler Sojka/Giles County Animal Shelter via The Associated Press)
The property owner said he didn’t recognize the dog, so Rochette and Jackson took the puppy to a veterinarian, who then transported it to the Giles County Animal Shelter.
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In a Facebook post on Monday, the shelter called the dog a “living miracle.”
“Yesterday we received a call about a dog that had fallen into a cave in the Narrows,” the shelter said. “We honestly had no idea what would happen in the next few hours, or even minutes.”
Rochette said the dog has been named SPAR-C, which stands for “small party assisted rescue” with the “C” standing for “canine,” and the shelter said it did not suffer any broken bones.
She can’t move her hind legs very well without help, but the shelter said they expect her to be able to stand and move around within a few days with medication, rest and good nutrition.
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The shelter posted an update on Wednesday saying Sparcy is doing better, is moving around, and has had his medical bills paid. The shelter is still searching for an owner, but if his recovery continues at this rate, he should be able to move into a new home soon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
