Chihuahua rescued after fall down Vancouver Island well

Photo: Oyster River Volunteer Fire Rescue

Vancouver Island fire crews answered an unusual call after a Chihuahua fell down a well.

The dog’s owner, Chuck Robinson, said the 12-year-old dog, who goes by Dogus or Mini, comes and goes as he wants from their home near Oyster River, but he’s not often gone more than half an hour.

Dogus went out his doggy door Saturday morning. When he didn’t return after a few hours, Robinson said, he and his wife grew worried.

He set out looking for Dogus in the neighbourhood, walking past the old well in their backyard, which is covered by a plank of rotting wood with a small crack.

“It was just a little crack. I wouldn’t have thought he could fall through. It was a one in a million shot,” he said.

It wasn't until after he had searched ditches in the area and passed the well twice that Robinson peeked through the cracked wood and saw a ripple in the shallow water seven metres down. He pulled the wood apart and saw Dogus looking up at him from the bottom of the well.

“It was a heck of a drop,” Robinson said.

He called Oyster River Volunteer Fire Rescue for help. Deputy chief Chris Murray descended a ladder into the well to rescue Dogus, who was standing on a floating log, said fire chief Bruce Green.

“The dog was quite happy to see him. Very eagerly went into his arms,” Green said.

Murray brought the dog out of the well, where he was inspected by another firefighter who is also a veterinary technician.

Dogus wasn’t injured in the fall.