A cat may have nine lives, but there’s one dog who could be forgiven for thinking she had used up a fair slice of her luck this Easter.
Ava, a greyhound-bully cross, was chasing a fox through a paddock on the Pitfield-Cressy Road, south of Ballarat, on Sunday morning.
She raced through a fence and plunged 20 metres down an abandoned mineshaft.
Owner Shandelle, who was visiting from Albury, and her partner were out walking with their dog on a farm property when she disappeared.
“We knew there were mineshafts in one area, but obviously we missed this one,” she says. Fortunately the dog was wearing a GPS tracking collar, which eventually enabled Shandelle to find Ava in the shaft.
“My partner and I have a side-by-side 4WD vehicle with a winch, and he thought about lowering himself down with that.”
Realising it was too dangerous, they called emergency services, and crews attended from across the region, including Ballarat City Rope Rescue, Ballarat Road Accident Rescue, Lismore SES and Cape Clear CFA.
After making sure Ava was alive, rescuers determined the most efficient and safest method to retrieve her was by lowering a rescuer down the shaft.
Pitfield is located between Rokewood and Skipton.
Due to the dangers of a shaft collapse, her rescuer was lowered without touching the mine walls.
A special dog harness was used to suspend Ava as she was lifted from the shaft.
The operation required the assistance of all crews attending said Ballarat City Fire Brigade station officer Peter Egan.
Around sunset the rescuer and a very tired dog were raised from the mine shaft much to the relief of all present.
Ava suffered some cuts to her head, but was otherwise uninjured.
“The incident highlighted the value of teamwork and clear process in emergency operations. These incidents always have inherent risks, which were identified and managed,” said Peter Egan.
“The rescue was challenging and demanding.
“The interaction and working relationship from all members from different CFA brigades and SES permitted an excellent outcome to the incident.”
There is no word on the fox.