Dog survives being trapped under 45 tons of rock for a week

Meet Jessie the miracle Jack Russell that spent a week trapped under 45 tonnes of rock while chasing a stray cat. For seven days, four-year-old Jessie was wedged meters underground at Mt Beckworth, Victoria, Australia, between enormous rocks only able to wiggle her front paws and move her head. But the devotion of her owner, Steve Porter, never wavered as he moved the earth ­- literally ­– to save his dog.

State Emergency Service units from Maryborough were able to move a rock thought to weigh about 20 tonnes, but still Jessie was unreachable. With his dog surviving on liver that was attached to a wire and sent down into the rocks, Mr Porter set about bringing in machinery that could separate the enormous rocks. His son Tom had already started drilling through the solid granite rock, but time was running out.

A massive hydraulic ram, capable of lifting 95 tonnes, was hired from Melbourne, and Mr Porter and a team of men set about shifting the rocks. The team of four worked tirelessly, sometimes until 2am, to move the rock, inch by inch. But still Jessie could not move. Mr Porter said there were times when he considered euthanasing the dog to put her out of her misery, a decision he weighed up every night. But such was his love for the dog he continued to battle the freezing elements.

Eventually, after seven days underground, Jessie was pulled free using a dog-catcher loop that had been borrowed from a local animal welfare group. She ran straight towards Mr Porter and leapt into his arms. “I couldn’t believe she was in such good condition,” he said. “Neither could the vet.” After spending the night under observation at Eastwood Veterinary Clinic, Jessie was released in surprisingly good condition.

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