General News
22 August, 2022
Dogs rescued from Tarnagulla mine shaft
The sound of barking and the quick thinking of a young boy led emergency services on a lengthy rescue operation to pull two dogs from a mine shaft near Tarnagulla last week. Emergency services, including the Dunolly Fire Brigade, worked into the...
The sound of barking and the quick thinking of a young boy led emergency services on a lengthy rescue operation to pull two dogs from a mine shaft near Tarnagulla last week.
Emergency services, including the Dunolly Fire Brigade, worked into the night last Wednesday to retrieve the two dogs, trapped around 20 metres down a mine shaft off Commercial Road, Tarnagulla.
Dunolly Fire Brigade captain Greg Humphrey said it was pure chance the dogs were found and that crews spent hours safely retrieving them with the assistance of Oscar 1 — one of the CFA’s specialised rescue teams.
“A young boy was riding his push bike through the area and heard a dog barking, so he called the Tarnagulla police. It was very lucky,” he said.
“Five of our members went out and helped Oscar 1 get the dogs out. I’d say we were out there for around four hours.
“It was an unusual incident to turn out to and it was interesting to see Oscar 1 work.
“The dogs were in very poor condition when we got them out and they could’ve been down there for up to two days, but apparently they’ll make a full recovery.”
The dogs were cared for by wildlife rescue volunteers at the scene and are now in the care of Loddon Shire Council.
“Both dogs have been checked by a vet and remain in the care of Loddon council,” a council spokesperson said.
“Council is also liaising with a rescue group regarding the dogs’ long-term recovery and rehoming.”
