Florida is well known for its dangerous sinkholes, but at least in this incident there was a happy ending. On Tuesday this week a little pug by the name of Cookie was rescued by a veterinary team from the University Of Florida after taking a tumble down a massive sinkhole.

The ground opens up under Cookie the pug

In a report by the Gainesville Sun, Cookie had paused for a moment to have a scratch, while enjoying a walk around her owner’s farm. When the pug stood up and started walking again, a sinkhole suddenly opened up and, to quote the report, “that was when Cookie tumbled.” The little pug then fell 30-feet down into the sinkhole.

As soon as the pug fell, her owners contacted the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office, which in turn got hold of the Veterinary Emergency Treatment Service (VETS), a team of University of Florida staff and students who have been trained to handle animal-related emergencies. Reportedly the same team last year saved a horse from an above-ground septic tank, so they are used to this kind of work.

One of Cookie’s owners, Laurel Johanson, said they were worried that Cookie would suffocate down there. However, when the fire rescue officers arrived on the scene, they said they could hear Cookie making snorting sounds below (being a pug, she reportedly snorts instead of barks) and they realized the little dog was still alive.

The team then reportedly dug for several hours to reach Cookie

Rescue team hoists the pug up to the surface unscathed

With the expanded help of the Trenton Fire Department, Gilchrist County Fire Rescue and Fanning Springs Fire Rescue, the VETS team then built an A-Frame over the sinkhole. Once this was in place, the team lowered Jennifer Groover, a 4th-year student, down into the hole with a harness for Cookie.

Reportedly as soon as Groover reached the grateful pug, Cookie jumped up into her lap and both were then hoisted up to the surface – a little dirty, but unhurt. John Haven from the University of Florida VETS team said it was a relief when Cookie was brought up unharmed. He said that giving the “four-legged child” back to its owner was a really good feeling.

Owners are keeping Cookie and their other dogs safe

According to the Orlando Weekly, owners Johanson and Patricia Langston are now planning on crating all eight of the dogs on their farm until they can get the sinkhole filled. They don’t want to have to experience any more close calls.
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