“A living miracle” – that’s what they’re calling a dog that was discovered and rescued from a Virginia cave by experienced cavers on Sunday, July 07.
The professional cavers, Dave Jackson and Jesse Rochette, from Colorado-based educational cave simulator company CaveSim were exploring Giant Caverns in Giles County, Virginia with a local couple.
Jackson tells WDBJ-TV, “We rappelled in, and the first member of our group found a dog that had fallen in 40 or 50 feet into the cave.”
The group’s expertise was certainly put to the test as the cave exploration turned into a rescue mission.
Jackson said, “All of us have cave rescue experience. So we say, ‘we’re gonna get this dog out of this cave.’”
Jackson also said that they had to improvise during the rescue because this was different from rescuing a person, “When you rescue a person, you have the appropriate gear.”
Luckily, Rochette, self-described “dog guy”, knows just how to make this rescue mission a success – with a piece of salami.
Rochette repelled down the cave with his “secret weapon” (aka the salami) to rescue the dog. “She instantly came over and sucked up the salami and she loved that,” he tells the Associated Press.
During the rescue, the group wrapped the dog in space blankets, foam pads, and a hood from an old jacket they found in the cave because it was shivering. They then used human rescue equipment to get the dog out of the cave safely.
“I picked her up, she just kind of like laid into me,” said Rochette. “I think that was probably about the time she realized, ‘okay, they’re doing something get me out of here.’”
Rochette also reveals that the moment the dog touch the ground, it started panting. “It was a very clear excitement that she knew she was out of that situation,” he explains.
The cavers rushed the dog to the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine for treatment and was later taken to the Giles County Animal Shelter to recuperate.
The group initially named her “Cave Dog” but then settled with SPAR-C, an acronym for “Small Party Assisted Rescue Canine”.
On July 08, the animal shelter posted about SPAR-C on their Facebook page, calling her “a living miracle”.
They wrote, “Some call it fate, some call it luck, but this was nothing short of a miracle.”
The animal shelter also revealed that after numerous tests and x-rays, SPAR-C miraculously had no broken bones.
She did have other problems such Lyme Disease, some inflammation in her spine, and cannot use her back legs too well without assistance.
But Giles County Animal Shelter reveals these were problems that a “good dose of pain medication, antibiotics, rest and good nutrition” can fix.
Furthermore, they revealed that Rochette visited SPAR-C to check on her.
“Thank you to the CaveSim team for going above and beyond to bring this special girl to us – we’ve got it from here. And safe travels to Jesse, who will be heading back to Colorado with quite the story to tell,” Giles County Animal Shelter wrote.
A day after, the animal shelter revealed that SPAR-C is up and moving on her own. “She takes her medicine like a champ and eats like there’s no tomorrow,” they wrote.
On July 16, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) revealed that they sent both Jackson and Rochette a “Compassionate Action Award” for rescuing SPAR-C.
Meanwhile, Giles County Animal Shelter said that SPAR-C’s owner hasn’t been found yet. But if her healing continues to progress quickly, she will be ready to be adopted to her new forever home.