Gansbaai folk pull together to save puppy

SOMETIMES not everyone lives happily ever after but‚ as Gansbaai residents learned this week‚ miracles do happen.

On Tuesday, Adri Franken, 60, awoke to the distressing cries of two puppies and their mother.

The six-week-old Jack Russell puppies had fallen down a 15m pipe leading to a water well.

Franken, who was house-sitting for friends, said she could not rescue the puppies on her own because she was on crutches.

She took to the Gansbaai Facebook page to ask for help and, within minutes‚ people arrived at the house to help rescue the dogs.

“I was sleeping when all of a sudden I was awoken by the cries of the puppies. I was so shocked when I found them down the pipe‚” Franken said.

She said she could not understand how the puppies had ended up down the pipe‚ because they did not sleep anywhere near it.

She suspected their mother might have carried them there.

But the generosity of the community left her dumbfounded.

“I have never seen that page so busy. People were giving all sorts of advice. An hour later‚ 20 people were at the house trying to rescue the puppies‚” Franken said.

The local animal welfare society‚ police and the fire brigade were among the helpers.

“That is not all. People on Facebook were glued to the page and I had to keep them updated. They kept on asking whether the puppies had been saved‚” Franken said.

After an eight-hour ordeal‚ the rescuers were able to save only one of the puppies.

“When the puppy came out it was a big, happy moment. Everyone was shouting with excitement – one lady even cried.

“They tried looking for the other puppy, but could not find him‚” Franken said.

The animal society checked the pup and gave him a clean bill of health.