A 13-year-old Welsh Terrier named Lucy (her owners might want to consider adding a “k” to her name) should be the poster dog for why you should always keep your dog on a leash when you’re hiking together.
Lucy was not leashed on a hike with her owners yesterday morning in the hills of Malibu, Calif. She wandered off the trail and fell into a dirt well that’s 30 feet deep and only 2 feet wide at the bottom.
Amazingly, Lucky — er, Lucy — was not injured in the fall. The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue team (USAR) was dispatched to the scene, but it took them two hours to get there due to traffic. (Hey, it’s L.A., after all.)
When they finally made their way to the well, the rescue took another two hours.
“We set up an Arizona Vortex, which is a three-legged artificial high point,” Matt Walmsley, who was lowered by rope into the well to rescue Lucy, told KABC. “And that allows me to come out of the hole clean. We put on a safety rope and a main rope, and I went down with a strap that I have in my pocket here. I got it around the dog, and stood her up and got her in my arms, and up we came.”
The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority also helped with Lucy’s rescue, which was recorded on video.
Lucy is now safely back home with her owners, who, I bet, will never, ever let her roam off leash again.
Photo via Twitter