Meet Underdog, the little brown dog who survived for eight days after falling into the world’s largest man-made hole…

She plunged 200m into the world's largest manmade hole but, after eight days, rescuers have finally brought the little brown dog to safety…

underdog

by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

It's the sort of inspirational story that'll bring tears to your eyes, isn't it?

A little brown dog, nicknamed Underdog by worried members of the public, was swimming back and forth across a pool of water at the bottom of a disused diamond mine in Kimberley, South Africa.

It soon became apparent that the pooch had plunged 200m into ‘Big Hole’ and, after surviving the initial fall, was desperately struggling to find an escape route.

Luckily, she found a ledge to rest on in between swims, while passers-by threw food down to try and keep her alive. But things seemed desperate, as several attempts to bring Underdog to safety had failed.

Emergency workers had discovered that the pit was too unstable, that their ropes not long enough to reach her and that a larger-scale rescue attempt would be needed.

Thankfully, a Topdog rescue team were prepared to do anything to bring Underdog back onto solid ground - and, at the weekend, a five-hour rescue operation got underway.

Underdog's rescuer, Warrant Officer John Seeley, told News24 that, one she realised she was there to help him, the dog "gave herself over" to him.

"She was still swimming strong on Saturday. She was aggressive towards me initially, but realised that I was going to help her. She gave herself over to me."

"I had to do all the swimming, and she couldn't really stand on dry ground either."

"The dog has to receive lots of love and attention now."

And, more importantly, John has revealed he is desperate to make sure Underdog will find a loving home. And he's willing to help the SPCA search for a new owner, as he - with a police dog, four dogs and four cats - is unable to adopt her himself.

"I don't want the dog to be adopted by someone for the publicity. It has to be people that will really care for the animal and shower her with love."

Underdog is currently recovering in the care of local vet Claudine Crawford.

"There was nothing seriously wrong with her, except that she was extremely tired and hungry. Her blood sugar levels were low, which is why I put her on a drip. No bones were broken."

She is reportedly very friendly and calm, but understandably exhausted. However, with hundreds of offers for adoption flooding in, we imagine the little pooch will find a loving home sometime very soon.

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