<|:)~
Posted on 05/19/2004 1:06:43 PM PDT by ambrose
Dog Survives Five Weeks In Desert Hole Family Left Dog For Dead
POSTED: 7:20 am PDT May 19, 2004
LOS ANGELES -- A family who left their dog for dead after a desert hiking accident five weeks ago has been reunited with the pooch.
Seventeen-year-old Stephen Schwartz was hiking with his brother, father and two cousins on April 18th on the western edge of Death Valley National Park when their dog -- Shadow -- fell into a pit.
They tried to rescue the dog but the ladder they were using fell out of reach and Shadow stopped responding to their calls. Thinking the dog was dead they placed an improvised cross over the hole and returned home to San Bernardino County.
Temecula resident Scott Mertz and his brother Darren Mertz stumbled on the pit Sunday and dared each other to climb inside. Then they heard barking.
Using a hose Darren lowered his brother into the hole until he could reach the ladder and get to the dog. The Mertz brothers called the number on Shadow's tags and told the Schwartzs their pet was fine -- 35 days after they left it for dead.
Stephen Schwartz says the cocker spaniel-beagle mix lost five pounds but is doing fine.
Well...they did their "best" :-/
How could it survive 35 days without water?
it seems everything I post is doomed to Chat. I better come back later when this Mod goes off shift.
Yeah...This almost sounds made up. 35 days w/out water or food and only lost 5lbs? Must have been water in the hole or that was one damn fat cocker!
And...how likely is there to be a hose laying around Death Valley?
<|:)~
I would have found someone to help me get my dog out of the pit, regardless if I thought it was dead or not. I would have NEVER had the heart to just leave it there...not knowing.
Meet Shadow.
Stranger things have happened. You don't know; possibly there was the artesian thing going down there, wet enough to help him along.
As for hose - perhaps the men/boys went back to get something to use. Which would be a bit more than the owners did, apparently!
For some sorry folks, pets are disposable...
I don't think they deserve to get the dog back. That was just cruel.
I am going to guess it found water down there.
Dog won't even hold a grudge. We sometimes don't deserve the loyalty we get from them, but they give it without reservation.
There's something other than chat?
If I were Shadow, I wouldn't be real eager to reunite with "best friends" who left me in a pit to die.
Yes, I'm just making an observation (altho even more so than any hose - where do you get a ladder out there?). I don't think the owners were so terrible as some imply, but it *did* seem they gave up too easily. You can't just assume. Didn't they get a strong flashlite, FGS?
I agree. The spot on the news just mentioned the reunion, not the circumstances of the pet's accident. I would never have abandoned my animal - I would move heaven and earth to rescue my friend.
...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.