A Melksham dog owner has expressed his heartfelt thanks to a pet charity for saving his dog, who had been trapped in a hole for eight days.
Temple, a 13-year-old Jack Russell, went missing whilst on a walk in fields near King George V Park. Upon hearing gunshots from a farm in the distance, Temple bolted, disappearing into a fox or badger sett, where he remained trapped for eight days.
“He has been in holes before but he usually comes straight back out,” says his owner, Mark Cummings. “When we realised he wasn’t coming out, it was an awful experience. We got our friends and family to help us search for him; it was truly traumatic. Pets and dogs are such an integral part of the family — it would have just been awful if we were on a walk and his time with us ended.”
In case Temple had escaped from the hole later in the day, Mark launched a Melksham- wide search for him with the help of friends and family.
A friend then suggested Mark contact Search and Scan, a volunteer-led group in Wiltshire and Somerset that helps reunite pets with their owners.
“I had never heard of the charity before this incident,” says Mark. “The RSPCA and vets also recommended that I contact them. Search and Scan were fantastic. They were so dedicated in helping us find Temple. The volunteers came out and monitored the hole; they used a drone and set up cameras to watch for any movement. They went back every single day.
“On the eighth day, the volunteers and my husband were shouting Temple’s name down the hole, and then he just started to emerge. They even have footage of him coming out. It was incredible.
“We couldn’t believe he had survived down there. We were so relieved.
“He was a bit battered and had lost a lot of weight. We were really worried that he wouldn’t survive the night, but we went back to his baby days and set the alarm every hour to give him sugary water, then introduced solid foods — and now he’s back to his old self again and has gained weight.”
Mark and his wife Geraldine have another Jack Russell named Chapel. “Chapel and Temple have spent their whole lives together and are very happy to be reunited.
“We are now very cautious when we walk Temple. We can’t stop him running off so we use an extendable lead and we enjoy taking him to the dog park in King George V Park. We love walking down by the nature reserve near where we live, and we go in the car to other local walks too.
“I couldn’t thank Search and Scan enough for finding him. Since then, friends and family have donated to the charity. They do such fantastic work.”
For more information about Search and Scan and the work they do to reunite lost and found pets, visit http://searchandscan.co.uk.
