Deep in a cave in southeastern Missouri, a group of people exploring rescued a dog and then reunited her with her owner, who had not seen the pet in two months.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Aug. 6, Rick Haley described the incident. Haley said he and a few other spelunking groups entered the Tom Moore Cave in Perryville. When they traveled deep into the cave, they came across a dog who was not in good shape.
Haley told Fox29 news, “The dog was in bad shape. She had been in there a long time. She was malnourished. Starvation. She smelled horrible.”
Haley said, “She was very near death. We could tell,” he added. “She was very skinny and bony.”
Haley and friend Gerry Keene gently rescued the dog and placed her in a duffle bag with her head sticking out. Haley said the dog was cooperative as he and Keene carried her to safety.
Haley said, “We moved her 500 feet to a very tight, awkward, vertical climb, handing her hand to hand upward to the surface.”
The spelunkers were not the only good samaritans. The local fire officials helped go door to door in search of the owner. It was a miracle they found the owner and learned that the dog’s name was Abby and she had been missing since June 9, 2022.
Haley reported that Abby “was happy to be out,” and that he had no idea how the dog ended up so deep in that cave.
“I’m just happy to be able to get her out of the cave because when we got her out of the cave…her spirits lifted a little,” Haley continued. “And I can actually say my day was very positive. When I put my head down on the pillow that night, I had a smile on my face.”
The Tom Moore Cave is a part of the Moore Cave system, which is one of the largest cave systems in Missouri.
