by 
A group of cave explorers were in the right place at the right time recently, happening upon an injured dog who was in a cave 40 feet below — and made a life-saving rescue.
Last weekend, Dave Jackson and Jesse Rochette, employees of the cave simulator CaveSim, were exploring Giant Caverns in Giles County, Virginia with a local couple, according to CBS News.
But the group made a very unexpected discovery. One of the party members was exploring a cave 40-to-50 feet down and found a dog inside, injured but alive.
The cavers knew they had to act. While they had never rescued an animal before, they had experience with rescue training classes and were prepared with rescue gear, and began a three-hour operation to lift the dog to safety.
Rochette rappelled down to the dog, and lured her out with a piece of salami. “She instantly came over and sucked up the salami and she loved that,” Rochette told CBS News.
The group made a makeshift dog harness to attach her to Rochette and then lift them both up to safety. They wrapped the shivering dog dog in space blanket and gave her water. The dog was very grateful to to her rescuers.
“The moment that she touched the ground, the tongue came out. You could tell it was a very clear excitement that she was out of that situation,” Rochette told WDBJ-TV.
The fact that the cavers happened to find the dog was a miracle, saving the dog from a grim fate. The caves were reportedly littered with skulls and bones of animals that got stuck there.
The dog was taken to Giles County Animal Shelter. She was in rough shape, suffering from Lyme disease and inflammation of the spine, though she thankfully did not have any broken bones.
“Some call it fate, some call it luck, but this was nothing short of a miracle,” Giles County Animal Shelter wrote of the rescue, calling the dog “a living miracle.”
She got a special visit from her rescuer Jesse Rochette, who gave her the name “Sparsy” (after the acronym SPAR-C: Small Party Assisted Rescue- Canine.)
She was put on pain medication, antibiotics and received lots of rest and care. While the shelter initially said they didn’t “know what the next hours or even minutes would look like” when they took Sparsy in, the dog has been making a recovery and has started to walk again.
“Sparsy is UP AND MOVING! Look at that tail go!” the shelter wrote. “She takes her medicine like a champ and eats like there’s no tomorrow.”
Giles County Animal Shelter has been looking for Sparsy’s owners, but no one has come forward, and she will likely be put up for adoption when she is healed.
We’re so glad that Sparsy was found and rescued in time by these kind cavers. We hope she continues to make a great recovery and finds a home soon!
Please share this story if you love dogs! ❤️
