When Megan Holmes was walking her golden retriever, Skye, in the Pennsylvania State University Arboretum, she let her off-leash. After a few moments, Skye seemed to vanish, reported the Centre Daily Times. A snowstorm was raging, and Holmes was worried her dog was gone forever.
As Holmes and her family began to look for the dog, Holm's husband, Ron, learned his municipality had filled in several sinkholes in the area where Megan had been walking. The pair returned and found a sinkhole but they couldn't hear anything inside except the sound of rushing water, reported Fox News. The pair left and came back the next day when the gushing water had stopped.
That's when they heard Skye's barks.
"Oh, it's the most fantastic feeling hearing her. I was so sick last night thinking she was gone. I thought she would have drowned if she was somewhere down there or suffered hypothermia," said Ron Holmes, according to the Centre Daily Times. The fire department was called and the rescue carried out. Watch the amazing rescue below, uploaded to Twitter by ABC7 Eyewitness News.
Golden retriever rescued after spending 2 nights in 14-foot-deep sinkhole in Pennsylvania https://t.co/ygsKE07qGWhttps://t.co/PCIkWAQ48k
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) February 18, 2016
Steve Bair, the Centre Region Council of Governments Fire Director, was on the scene to rescue Skye. "On the fly we constructed a harness for the dog," said Bair, according to The Associated Press. He also said that she "was a very nice dog ... (and) was in good shape, which was helpful for the rescue. (She) kind of sensed what was happening and was very cooperative."
After the stressful ordeal, Skye has completely bounced back. "She's doing fine, and the vet said she's in good shape. I really appreciate efforts of the Alpha Fire Company and campus police. There's a good thing that comes out of it, I think. That sinkhole got located, and they'll fill it so no one will fall down it," said Ron Holmes.
