Missing dog found 16 feet underground

CLERMONT, Fla., June 18 (UPI) -- A Lake County, Fla., woman said her 7-year-old dachshund was rescued after spending days in a hole 16 feet deep.

Angela Surguine said she was worried when the dog, Sophia, did not come inside for dinner June 7 after roaming the 5-acre property, The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Surguine said she and her husband searched for the dog for days, but it wasn't until June 10 that she heard the dog moaning from one of several holes dug in the yard by gopher tortoises.

She said a group including her husband, her two sons-in-law and neighbors spent hours digging deeper and deeper into the earth, at one point using a neighbor's Bobcat excavator. The dog was eventually found 16 feet underground.

Lake County Animal Services assistant director Rene Segraves said Sophia appeared to be healthy following her ordeal.

"I have never, ever heard of a dog surviving for that long or that deep," Segraves said. "She must have been about 16 feet down. None of us expected that little dog to be found alive. Not only was she alive; she was healthy. It is truly a miracle."