Jerry Crain was walking his 9-month-old, small breed, female dog in the Barstow, Calif., dessert when the canine – nicknamed “Puppy Dog” – fell down 25 feet into an abandoned mine shaft. Crain couldn’t locate his companion friend and it wasn’t until the following morning that firefighters were able to locate and hoist the dog out of the mine.
On the evening of Oct. 24, 2013, Crain and “Puppy Dog” went for a walk in the dessert. It was getting dark and Crain called out for his dog but the small dog wouldn’t come to him.
After some time Crain had no other option but to leave the dessert without “Puppy Dog,” but he returned at first light the following morning to continue searching for his best friend.
With the morning sun, Crain noticed barbed wire gating off a mine shaft and he decided to take a closer look. That’s when he discovered “Puppy Dog” sitting on a ledge quite some distance below.
The San Bernardino County Fire Department was called to assist in the rescue.
According to Eric Sherwin, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, there are many abandoned mine shafts in the High Desert. Fortunately, the fire department is well prepared for these types of rescues.
A firefighter was hoisted down to retrieve the pet safely.
“She’s very lucky, I guess, because there was a ridge she was sitting on there,” Crain told NBC Los Angeles. “Otherwise, she could’ve went on down, could’ve been finished.”
Crain had tears in his eyes when “Puppy Dog” was handed back to him. Luckily she did not suffer any injuries from the fall and Crain promised the pet won’t be coming along any more dessert walks.
