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Photos: Dog Rescued From 30-Foot Sinkhole In Fallowfield Township

FALLOWFIELD TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A dog is safe and back above ground, after a major rescue operation by the Fallowfield Township Volunteer Fire Company.

According to their Facebook page, the Fallowfield VFC received a call that a dog had fallen into a 30-foot sinkhole, believed to be an old mine shaft.

The pup, named Blaze, had been missing from the Charleroi area for more than a week.

"Then, 11 days later, I see someone had posted on Facebook about… a fire call, and someone said about an animal entrapment. So, I thought, well, I'm going to keep an eye on this and maybe we get lucky and its Blaze," said Heather Ross, Blaze's owner.

A nearby homeowner heard the dog barking and alerted authorities.

With the help of the County Animal Rescue Team, EQT and Fallowfield Township supervisors, crews set to work on pulling the poor pup from the hole.

Some reportedly offered to go down into the hole to pull the dog out, but that plan was rejected due to safety concerns. So, crews had to get a bit creative.

"With some good thinking and strong will, and the proper tools, crews were able to sling the dog and extricate it from the hole/shaft," the post read.

"We just had to put minimal manpower around the hole and widen the top out just a little bit to where we could lower some gear down in there; and luckily, the dog worked with us and helped us out to where we could get around it and pull it up out, and the guys did a great job," said Fallowfield Fire Rescue Chief Anthony Fleming.

No one knows how Blaze ended up at the bottom of that mine shaft, or how long he was there; but in a situation that could have ended tragically, Blaze is going to be okay.

"From what we can tell, his nose is a little scruffed up," said Ross. "We're trying to get him into the vet to get him checked out and make sure he's all right because we don't know if he got a hold of something because he's been sick since we got him home. We don't know, maybe he got a hold of something on his journeys or something in the mine shaft that made him sick."

But his family is happy and relieved to have him back home.

"He's been my little buddy," Raymond Lynn, Blaze's owner. "He sleeps up in the chair with me and everything else. I was happy, I was grateful that he came back."

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