Post by Brad Tipton on Apr 5, 2007 15:24:24 GMT -5
This past Wednesday I was awakened far too early by the sounds of tones wailing from my radio. To my surprise the dispatcher called for the Cave/Cliff team to respond to a cave near my house. I wasn't aware that there were any caves that close to the house. I waited for Buddy to start alpha pages to get a better feel for what to expect. I got impatient, so I called him and he confirmed we had another Coon Dog stuck in a cave. Coon Dog rescues tend to be our specialty. In the 10 years I have been on the team we have rescued 8 dogs from various perils and about half were Coon Dogs. I guess when a dog is chasing a coon through the woods in the dark he doesn't tend to watch his step. We have rescued dogs off cliffs, down pits, and multiple dogs from small crevasses. Every rescue has been unique in it's own way. Wednesday's was no exception.
Andy, Bruce, Clem, Chad and Mike picked me up at the house and we proceeded to the north end of Ooltewah to meet a fellow who had lost his 10 month old Coon Dog "Rat" in a small cave the night before. "Rat" had followed two older dogs as they chased a raccoon into the woods and directly into a very wet spring cave. Two of the dogs returned, but "Rat" didn't. The owner spent most of the night in a raging thunderstorm trying to coax "Rat" back to the surface by calling for him. The dog had a very expensive radio tracking collar around his neck and the tracking device could pinpoint his location underground from outside the cave. If the device was correct, "Rat" was less than 100 feet into the cave. Unfortunately for someone, there was only about 6 inches of airspace between the water and the ceiling of the cave. Chad and Mike suited up, much to my relief, and we watched them proceed into the low airspace upside down with their noses scraping the ceiling.
After about 5 minutes, the two called back to confirm that they had located the dog and that he was still alive. Unfortunately, "Rat" had backed down into a low section that was too small for either Mike or Chad to get to him. They spent quite some time calling the dog, but he wouldn't move. We knew we would have to construct something to snag him by the collar and get him moving, but what? The owner's friends went back to the farm to get us some PVC pipe and bailing wire. We have been sucessful many times in the past using the long pole and hook maneuver on dog rescues. Always try what has worked in the past first, I say. After some modifications to a caribeaner and securing it to the end of the 20 foot long PVC pipe, Chad went back in with it to try it out. Within minutes we heard some sloshing and out of the twilight appeared "Rat". The pole was just the motivation he needed to get through the low space.
Despite lying in total immersion for over 12 hours, "Rat" was no worse for the wear and was happy to be back outside. He was a lucky little Coon Dog on this day. The owner was lucky as well. "Rat" is a very expensive dog, $15,000 to $25,000, and he is just a puppy! Hopefully "Rat" has learned to avoid caves and pits for a while, or at least until he gets a helmet and 3 sources of light...... ;D
Here are some pictures from the rescue courtesy of Clem Akins
www.wighat.com/clem/dog
Andy, Bruce, Clem, Chad and Mike picked me up at the house and we proceeded to the north end of Ooltewah to meet a fellow who had lost his 10 month old Coon Dog "Rat" in a small cave the night before. "Rat" had followed two older dogs as they chased a raccoon into the woods and directly into a very wet spring cave. Two of the dogs returned, but "Rat" didn't. The owner spent most of the night in a raging thunderstorm trying to coax "Rat" back to the surface by calling for him. The dog had a very expensive radio tracking collar around his neck and the tracking device could pinpoint his location underground from outside the cave. If the device was correct, "Rat" was less than 100 feet into the cave. Unfortunately for someone, there was only about 6 inches of airspace between the water and the ceiling of the cave. Chad and Mike suited up, much to my relief, and we watched them proceed into the low airspace upside down with their noses scraping the ceiling.
After about 5 minutes, the two called back to confirm that they had located the dog and that he was still alive. Unfortunately, "Rat" had backed down into a low section that was too small for either Mike or Chad to get to him. They spent quite some time calling the dog, but he wouldn't move. We knew we would have to construct something to snag him by the collar and get him moving, but what? The owner's friends went back to the farm to get us some PVC pipe and bailing wire. We have been sucessful many times in the past using the long pole and hook maneuver on dog rescues. Always try what has worked in the past first, I say. After some modifications to a caribeaner and securing it to the end of the 20 foot long PVC pipe, Chad went back in with it to try it out. Within minutes we heard some sloshing and out of the twilight appeared "Rat". The pole was just the motivation he needed to get through the low space.
Despite lying in total immersion for over 12 hours, "Rat" was no worse for the wear and was happy to be back outside. He was a lucky little Coon Dog on this day. The owner was lucky as well. "Rat" is a very expensive dog, $15,000 to $25,000, and he is just a puppy! Hopefully "Rat" has learned to avoid caves and pits for a while, or at least until he gets a helmet and 3 sources of light...... ;D
Here are some pictures from the rescue courtesy of Clem Akins
www.wighat.com/clem/dog
