In a joint effort Gin Gin SES and South Kolan SES crews have rescued a dog from a well who had been treading water over night, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Gin Gin SES local controller Kellie Rogers said the rescue call came in at 12.30pm on Saturday after the owners found their beloved pooch stuck down the well.
“We don’t normally do stuff like this, but when an owner calls to say their dog is stuck, I thought, who can just leave a puppy in a well,” Kellie said.
“We had five Gin Gin SES members and another two from South Kolan SES go out to help.”
Kellie said they didn’t know how deep the well was, but the 40-foot SES ladder didn’t reach the bottom, and they weren’t sure how they could rescue the not so little puppy, Samson.
“We were all amazed by what we found,” she said.
“The owners had been looking for Samson all night and they couldn’t find him, so we think he had been treading water all night.
“When we lowered the ladder down, we realised it didn’t touch the bottom, but all of a sudden the puppy grabbed on and held the ladder so tight. I’m not sure how he did it, but that dog really wanted to get out!”
Kellie said the moment the dog was rescued there wasn't a dry eye left in the area.
“It’s really not something we normally deal with,” she said.
“That dog really was a fighter.”
“We are really the biggest sooks there are – some of the things we do as the SES isn’t so nice, from forensic searches and car crashes. It was nice we all had tears this time, and they were tears of happiness.”
Samson’s owners Simon and Laura said they had let their two-year-old rescue dog out on Friday night to go to the toilet before bed, but he didn’t return as per normal.
“He took off into the long grass and we searched for him, but we had no luck,” Simon said.
“The next day I heard whimpering from near the well and then found him.”
Laura said at first they didn’t know who to phone, and they were thankful the local SES agreed to come out and help.
“They are definitely heroes, we are absolutely overwhelmed by their support and help to free Samson,” she said.
Simon said earlier in the year he had thought about joining the SES and now, after seeing them in action, it was a definite.
“I have seen first hand how enjoying, rewarding and fulfilling it can be,” Simon said.
“We are just so thankful for their help.”
After the rescue Laura and Simon took Samson to their local vet.
Kellie said it was a two-hour rescue all up and she thanked all the SES members who worked well together for a positive outcome.
The SES is always looking for new members. For more information on how to join click here.
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