Trentham Fire Brigade members have rescued a dog last Monday after it fell into an eight-metre-deep mine shaft on Pronk Track in Trentham.
A labradoodle named Penny and a labrador named Ted wandered from their owner’s property when they went missing four days earlier. It is believed Ted fell into the mine shaft sometime on Friday. Penny stayed with Ted for the entire duration, while posts on social media spread rampant in search for the two.
Trentham Fire Brigade Captain David Wheeldon said neighbours walking along the track spotted the pair.
“When we arrived, as you would expect, Penny was quite agitated, but luckily one of our firefighters knew the owners because they lived next door to them,” Wheeldon said.
“We were able to get a hold of them to come down before Bendigo’s Oscar 1 [fire] crew started the rescue process.
“Throughout the morning, we were providing Ted with plenty of food and water.
“The members descended down the 8m shaft to safely extricate Ted and hand him back into the arms of his owners at around 2.53pm.”
While on scene, Trentham Fire Brigade members worked with Forest Fire Management Victoria to track their location with pink ribbon and red taped a number of open mine shafts nearby to prevent future incidents.
The owner of the animals said, “Both dogs are in unbelievable condition, a little lighter than usual, but otherwise excellent”.
Ted (left) and Penny (right)
