33-year-old Sarah Mclellan was left devastated after her beloved dog Ralph disappeared while out on a walk near their English home in Haworth, West Yorkshire last week.
Mclellan and her husband then spent their weekend searching for the wire-haired Dachshund. They recruited volunteers; made posts for “Lost Dog” Facebook groups; and even had a woman create a website for Ralph – all to no avail.
“On Friday it was horrendous weather, it was freezing and we just couldn’t find him anywhere,” said Mclellan. “As you can imagine at this point your mind goes wild thinking, ‘what’s happened? Has he drowned? Has something bad happened?’
“My son had asking us where Ralphy was. He was opening the front door and shouting for him – it was heartbreaking,” she added. “We just had to tell him that Daddy was looking for him.”
Miraculously, the terrified pooch was eventually sniffed out by his sister Edie while she was out on a walk with Mclellan’s husband on Monday.
Ralph was trapped five feet underground in a maze of rabbit runs located just half a mile from his home. After two hours of careful digging, the pup was finally rescued.
“The rabbit holes are like mazes and he must have gone through one hole and got stuck – he had made himself a hole in the middle but he couldn’t get out again,” said Mclellan. “When he got out the hole he went for a wee – and then carried on as if nothing had happened!
“When I got back home I opened the door and there he was in the kitchen,” she added. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Despite losing weight while he was trapped in the hole, Ralph was not left with any serious injuries.
“Ralph is completely knackered and he has worn down his nails from where he was trying to dig himself out, but he is otherwise fine,” said Mclellan. “He’s lost weight and he’s so tired – he just needs time to build himself back up again.”
The relieved owner hopes that her happy ending will give others hope that their pets will also be found.
“It was such a drama and I was still in shock when I saw him – I was up till 1am last night just cuddling him.
“He does like chasing rabbits and he does that a lot but he just took it too far this time. Hopefully he has learnt his lesson this time.”
