Madison after being freed and receiving a bath.
Photo via Tracey Morgan-Chopick & Luzerne County Animal Response Team
Madison, a Chihuahua mix, fell into a Pittston Township sinkhole
Pittston Township Fire Department Deputy Chief Anthony Ranieli, left, and wildlife rescue worker John Ackourey speak with reporters after Madison the dog was safely retrieved from a sinkhole Wednesday night. Ackourey was able to retrieve the dog from the hole after a number of unsuccessful attempts involving luring her with food.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
A pair of emergency workers trek up Doty Street in Pittston Township to the site of the sinkhole, shovels in hand to aid in digging out some of the hole so rescue workers had more room to work with.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
First responders from a number of different municipalities assisted in the rescue of the dog, who was freed from the sinkhole around 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
An emergency vehicle prepares to transport supplies up Doty Street to the scene of the sinkhole.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
PITTSTON TWP. — After a rescue effort that spanned two days and involved an immense amount of manpower, the good news came down just after 7 p.m. Wednesday night: Madison, a Chihuahua mix, was safe and sound.
A number of local police, fire and emergency service departments, along with the Luzerne County Animal Rescue Team, were called in to an area off Doty Street in Pittston Township after the dog became stuck in a sinkhole sometime Tuesday evening.
“We received a call last night that the dog was, unfortunately, missing,” said Anthony Ranieli, the deputy chief of the Pittston Township Fire Department. “They found it down in a sinkhole, approximately 12-14 feet down.”
An initial rescue effort was launched on Tuesday night, but was called off after a few hours before responders returned to the scene around 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
Ranieli explained that the sinkhole led down into an underground cavern roughly “the size of a bedroom,” and contained what was essentially a spoil pile with old railroad ties, tires, ash and dirt.
The rescue effort was hindered, and made dangerous, by the instability of the ground around the hole.
“It was very hard, and very dangerous, to get down into that space,” Ranieli said.
Over the course of the approximately 10 hours spent trying to free the dog from the sinkhole Wednesday, rescue workers tried a number of different techniques to get the dog out, including shoveling out some of the hole by hand with shovels to create more space, and lowering food into the hole in an attempt to lure the dog into a space where they could capture it.
This tactic, while it was unsuccessful in getting the dog freed from the hole, allowed rescue workers to keep the dog fed while they tried to get her out.
“She would see the food, she liked the food, but she would get scared and run away when we tried to get her,” Ranieli said.
Earlier in the afternoon, Pittston Township Police Chief Lena Angelella explained that the effort might have been completed sooner if not for the skittishness of the dog.
She also acknowledged at the time of the problems that would arise in the case of a rainstorm, which the area did experience on-and-off throughout the evening.
In order to rectify the issue of the unstable area, lumber was transported in on two separate trucks, one from Plains Township and one from Scranton, to help stabilize the area where rescuers were working.
Ultimately, it was a bit of a stroke of luck that helped Madison get free.
“We were actually going to take a little break, and I decided to check the hole once quick before then,” said John Ackourey, a wildlife rescue worker who said he got the call about the dog around midnight.
“And there she was … we just couldn’t believe it.”
Ackourey used what he called a “catch-pull” to get Madison out of the hole to safety, and to end what was likely the longest 24 hours in the dog’s life. He had made efforts to rappel into the sinkhole earlier, but each time down he was only able to go so far before returning to the surface.
Tracey Morgan-Chopick, who coordinated the rescue efforts as part of the Luzerne County Animal Response Team, said that the dog was in good health, and that she was taken back into her home for a bath after being freed.
The dog’s owners declined to bring Madison out for photographs after she was freed, and declined to be identified.
In all, responders from Pittston Township fire, police and EMS departments, the Jenkins Township Fire Department, Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance and a number of collapse control and trench rescue teams from around the area offered their services to save the dog.
“We’re in the business of saving life and property, in the fire rescue service,” Ranieli said. “Nowhere does it say ‘humans only’.”
It was these coordinated efforts, even with the elements working against the rescue, that made it possible for Madison to get home and back to her family on Wednesday night.
“This never would have happened if not for a total team effort from all the guys and girls here,” Ackourey said. “All working together for a positive result for this puppy.
“It’s a beautiful thing.”
