Rocky and his owner,
Carmen Long, back at home in Canterbury following his dramatic
rescue

by Katie Alston

The owner of a dog who fell down a 15ft hole has thanked to the
firefighters who saved him.

Two-year-old Rocky, an eight-and-a-half stone German Shepherd,
fell down what is thought to be a sewerage tunnel or drainage hole
on Polo Farm sports complex, sparking a major rescue mission by
emergency services on the night of Saturday, April 18.

But it could have been much worse as his owner, Carmen Long of
Littlebourne Road, Canterbury, almost fell in trying to save her
beloved pet.

She said: “Rocky was chasing a rabbit and the next thing I knew,
he had disappeared.

“The area was overgrown so I used a stick to check through the
long stinging nettles and grass.

“I heard Rocky crying and then I saw the hole.

“It was so deep I knew there was nothing I could do.

“As I peered in to try to see if he was all right I slipped on
the rotten metal drain covering, part of which had given way, and I
almost fell in head first.

“No one would have found me down there and there wouldn’t have
been any phone signal.

“None of my family knew where I had gone – it really is a scary
thought that I could have died.”

Sorry, this video asset has been removed.

Video: Rocky returns home
to his grateful owners

Mother-of-three Mrs Long, 57, contacted fire crews just after
8pm.

The expertise of Faversham’s animal rescue unit were also needed
for what firefighters described as a “difficult and challenging”
rescue.

Rocky’s luck did not end with the 18 inches of stagnant water at
the bottom of the pit that broke his fall, he was also just inches
away from a rusty pipe protruding from the wall.

After two hours, an animal harness and crane were able to winch
Rocky out to safety.

Mrs Long’s daughter Monica, 26, who went to the scene to comfort
her mother, said: “The firefighters were so well trained,
professional, friendly and reassuring.

“When Rocky was pulled out we were so relieved and we were all
crying. It was very emotional.

“It was a miracle that the vet gave him the all-clear.”

She added: “Our family want to thank the crew from the bottom of
our hearts.”