Abby is a 14-year-old dog who lived in Perryville, Missouri, USA. On June 9, she was playing in the park with Summer, the other pet of Jeff Bohnert (her owner), but after a while Summer came home alone.
Jeff and Summer quickly went looking for her, but couldn’t find her, and decided to put up signs all over the neighborhood, which is also known for its many caves.
A dog found missing for two months in a cave
Sadly, two months have passed since Abby was last seen in the neighborhood and they gave up hope of finding her alive until one day a 59-year-old caver named Gerry Keene, on a trip to Perryville, ventured into the caves in the area.
One day, Gerry was with a group of children exploring the city caves when he saw a light in the dark that startled him. It was Abby, who was about 200 yards away and appeared to be in very poor condition. Gerry took a photo of her and when he came out he asked for help from the emergency services “We realized it would be difficult to get her out, as she was too weak to walk,” Keene told the Washington Post.
A different mission
Although he had come to Perryville for a caving trip, he now had a very different mission. He is joined by caving fanatic Rick Haley to rescue Abby. The dog hadn’t eaten in over 60 days and was only alive because the cave was leaking water.
The two men quickly realized that the only way to save the dog was to enter the cave and pull her out: “If we didn’t get her out, she would die in there. It would be a tough vertical climb to get her out. But we were prepared for it”, Haley said.
Getting to the site wasn’t difficult, but the problems started when they started loading it into a padded bag and trying to carry it. They had to be careful, but they also had to find a way to get her through the low, narrow tunnels.
After an hour and a half, they managed to get Abby to see the light: “We had to move it from hand to hand because the path was sometimes quite narrow and vertical”, Haley said, noting that at one point he and Keene had to slide through the mud in a long tunnel.
“It was exhausting, as it was the fourth trip to the cave that day,” said Keene. “But we took matters into our own hands. »
When the two men and the dog came out, Jeff couldn’t believe his eyes; he couldn’t believe his dog was alive: “She is a true survivor. It took some time for the dog to regain her sight and her food, but she reacted positively and is now doing better. »
