FALMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - Crews rescued a dog from a sinkhole in Falmouth on Tuesday, according to Falmouth Fire.
Hyannis Fire, Falmouth Fire Rescue, and the Barnstable County Technical Rescue Team responded to the scene on Jones Road just before 3 p.m. for a report of a dog in need of a rescue after the animal fell into a 12-foot sinkhole.
David Velesig said he let his two dogs outside after work, and when he called them back in, only one returned.
“I was calling the dogs and Taco came in, but there was no Tess, and she’s 11 so I was worried about her,” Velesig said. “So I went and looked around, couldn’t find her.”
Velesig said went out to search for his 11-year-old yellow lab Tessie, and his other dog Taco ran over to the sinkhole and began barking – alerting him of her location.
“He [Taco] came back out and went over to the fence and was barking, and I looked down and about 10 or 12 feet down there was Tessie,” he said.
Velesig said he thought about trying to save his dog himself, but was worried about the hole collapsing further, so he called rescuers. He said the hole is possibly an old septic tank that nobody in the neighborhood knew was there.
In a statement, Falmouth Fire said, “Crews stabilized the surface and determined that a traditional entry was too dangerous for firefighters. Instead, they opted for a surface rescue. After more than two hours of tactical adjustments—and a little help from some pepperoni—Tess was successfully pulled to safety at 5:01 p.m.”
“I think there were 36 professinals here working together to figure out the best way to get her out,” Velesig said. “Just appreciation. They worked hard and together, it was a team and you could see they were all trying to figure out the best way to do it and the safest way.”
Velesig said Tessie appears to be doing fine, and was seen running around and wagging her tail after she was rescued.
“You know, dogs, people love dogs for a reason, because they love us,” he said. “So it means a lot, I’m just grateful.”
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