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Dogs are such smart, protective animals — they have great instincts and can tell when someone is in danger, whether they be humans or other pets.
Now one dog is being hailed as a hero after a situation straight out of Lassie: he discovered another dog in a sinkhole and saved her life by getting help.
Wrigley, a chocolate Labrador retriever, was walking with his owner in Marilla Park in Streator, Illinois, according to Heart of Illinois ABC.
But suddenly, Wrigley sensed that something was wrong.
He led his owner to a sinkhole — where a golden retriever was trapped five feet underground.
The owner called the fire department, who arrived on the scene to rescue the trapped dog. Wrigley’s smart instincts saved her life: he noticed her when no one else did, after she had been missing for a day.
“This dog had fell into a five-foot hole and who has been missing for about 24 hours, from what I understand,” Streator Fire Chief Fred McClellan told ABC.
Video shared on Facebook shows the crew’s careful rescue, maneuvering unsteady ground to dig her out of the hole.
“If you can see me falling. It was because the ground started to break on my one foot underneath, so I stepped across the hole to grab and then it collapsed again,” McClellan said. “Luckily my engineer Tim Redd was able to finish pulling the dog out safely.”
The golden retriever — named Macy — was successfully pulled to safety. The Streator firefighters were thanked for a job well done. Streator Animal Control also thanked everyone who helped in the search effort.
But a lot of the credit goes to Wrigley, who saved the day by noticing Macy in the first place.
Wrigley was hailed as a hero online: “Wrigley, you are a hero!! Such a happy ending!” one commenter wrote.
“Dog and owner to the rescue! We are all so lucky to have such a caring community! Thank you to everyone who came together to save Macy!” another comment reads.
After being pulled from the sinkhole, Macy was checked out by vets and is now “doing well and resting.”
A dog’s instincts are truly incredible. Thank you to smart dog Wrigley for saving the day — hope someone gets him a nice steak or bone as a reward!
We’re so glad Macy is home safe and sound! Thanks to the firefighters who showed up to save her!
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