A DOG got into deep trouble yesterday when he disappeared into a badger sett close to Áras an Uachtaráin.
A rescue attempt was launched after Billy, a curious seven-year-old terrier-Jack Russell cross, ventured into the sett while out for a walk in the Phoenix Park.
“The owner saw the dog run into the badger sett. He was calling the dog but he wouldn’t come out. He could hear him from above ground but only very faintly,” said Gillian Duffy of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA).
As the DSPCA did not have appropriate equipment to rescue the dog, the fire brigade was called in as well as two Phoenix Park rangers who helped ensure there were no badgers in the sett.
After about 40 minutes the rescue operation was successful. “We dug down and, after a few minutes we saw his face . . . You could just see his little nose poking out of the hole,” Ms Duffy said.
Billy’s relieved owner Ken Shannon had his own take on the day’s drama. “It was like the canine version of the Chilean mining rescue,” he said.
“We got him from the pound around three years ago so you could say this is his second rescue,” Mr Shannon said soon after he and his two daughters were reunited with their pet dog.
“We’ll have to start calling him Lucky from now on,” he added.