'Miracle' rescue of canine caver metres underground

“He said, ‘Whoa! There’s a dog down here!'” Rochette said.

“And I asked if it was alive and he said ‘Yes!'”

A self-described “dog-guy,” Rochette rappelled down next with a piece of salami.

“She instantly came over and sucked up the salami and she loved that,” Rochette said. The dog was shivering, so they wrapped her up in space blankets, foam pads and whatever else they could find, including the hood from an old jacket they found in the cave, he said. Next they got her to drink water by first getting her to lick water off his fingers, then lowering his hand until she was drinking from the bowl.

Jackson said he had taken rescue training classes and participated in rescues before, but never a rescue involving an animal.

“We all carry a little rescue gear with us,” Jackson said, and they pooled what they had. The cavers improvised a dog harness from a tarp and webbing and rigged up a system to haul out the dog strapped to Rochette, he said.