Puppy Trapped in Sinkhole

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ A puppy’s plight in a sinkhole brought out help from the High springs Fire Department.

At 10:10 a.m., Saturday, July 29, the High Springs Fire Department was dispatched to the intersection of Northwest 255^th Terrace and Northwest 168^th Place in High Springs’ Cinnamon Hills Estates neighborhood, for a report of a dog stuck in a sinkhole.

High Springs firefighters arrived on the scene at 10:21 a.m. to find a 15-foot-deep sinkhole that had opened up a few days earlier inside a stormwater retention basin, with an 11-week-old Labradoodle puppy trapped, but uninjured, at the bottom of the hole.

Within minutes of arrival, firefighters began rescue operations. The first responders first attempted to create a sort of hammock, using ropes and a foldable tarp-like device used for moving patients, called a “MegaMover. They placed treats and peanut butter inside in hopes of being able to safely wrap the dog within the MegaMover and bring it up to the ground.

Unsuccessful in luring the puppy with treats, firefighters deployed a ladder and lowered firefighter/ paramedic Kim Arnold into the hole, where she was able to successfully rescue the puppy.

Recent technical rescue and animal rescue training attended by firefighter Arnold and other members of the High Springs Fire Department paid off in another successful rescue.

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