Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service received a call in late October this year from the owner of two puppies that had gotten themselves into a bit of a tight spot.
When the team arrived at the Sunhill Road property just after 5pm local time, the owner rushed down to meet them. She explained that two of her puppies had escaped the safety of the house and had been lost down a rabbit hole.
Imminent collapse
Inspection of the hole revealed it to be approximately six feet deep and with a diameter of no more than a basketball.
Capt. Gail DeJarnett said that several attempts to physically access the hole to reach the puppies had been unsuccessful.
Facing the imminent collapse of the burrow, and an untimely burial of two young dogs, Capt. DeJarnett opted to use a grappling tool to drag the dogs back to safety.
The rescue was completed in under an hour, and the lucky pups have since been reunited with their owner.
Beware the burrow
Rabbit holes are a hazard for dogs, especially terriers, which have been bred for centuries to instinctively dig. Some rabbit holes are 15 feet deep or more, depending on the type of ground in which they are formed.
Fox dens (called ‘earths’) are just as deep and pose as much of a hazard to pet dogs. In the UK, there are thought to be as many as 430,000 foxes, equating to over 100,000 earths.
