A desperate rescuer broke his finger while digging out a beloved dog trapped underground with his bare hands.
The 13-year-old Patterdale terrier, called Mole, became wedged in tangled tree roots inside a rabbit warren, sparking a frantic search.
Her worried owners raised the alarm, triggering a major rescue effort.
Two days later, rescuers finally located the stricken pooch after hearing her faint barks from beneath the ground.
Nick Haselwood spent a gruelling hour clawing through soil to reach the trapped terrier –breaking a finger in the process.
The dramatic rescue happened near Wincanton, Somerset, as reported by Need To Know.
Jo Southway, from rescue team Search and Scan, said: “We got our tools together and quickly made our way out.
“Using our endoscope we tried to find Mole by looking underground in rabbit holes.
“Just as we were about to leave cameras and food we heard a bark.
“We rushed back and as I inspected the hole she had dug into really closely, I realised it actually went deeper than we thought and the earth had collapsed – making it look like a dead end.
“Her noises were becoming more shaky and weak.
“She was stuck underground where she had burrowed down a rabbit warren and then found some big cavities under a tree.
“But the roots were her downfall, she was completely wedged.
“All hands were on deck with digging and torch duties, and moving the earth away.
“Then, as we saw Mole’s little nose – it was a moment of sheer joy.
“Nick Haselwood used his bare hands digging for a good hour after breaking his finger to get underneath her enough that she could squeeze under the tree root.
“And he pulled her out.
“We then rushed her to the vets where they said that although she was in shock, she was incredibly lucky for her age after being stuck underground for days.
“Had she stayed down there any longer, she likely wouldn’t have made it.
“What a huge relief.”
Mole’s owner Zara D’Abo said: “She’ll often go down a burrow or two but she’s never got stuck before and she normally always comes back home – but she’s getting old.
“She’s quite deaf and quite blind.
“Thankfully we got her home.
“It was nail-biting.
“It was a couple of days until we even found the right burrow to look in.
“She’s absolutely fine.
“She did 24 hours at the vets, got re-hydrated and she’s back home.
“It’s business as usual for her.”
Jo Southway added: “We get called out every day.
“We’ve had a few randoms – we’ve had a tortoise, we had an emu as well.
“Someone had to rugby tackle it and put a bag over its head.”
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