Firefighters dig through five tonnes of soil to rescue dog stuck in rabbit hole for over 19 hours

Hook with his rescuers Credit: Scottish Fire and Rescue Service/PA

Firefighters were called in to rescue a dog which had become trapped down a rabbit hole for 19 hours.

Four-year-old Jack Russell Hook got stuck underground while out walking with owner Kevin McKenna near Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service station manager Brian Byrne said: “Our firefighters worked tirelessly as a team, using state-of-the-art specialist equipment as well as manually digging what probably amounted to as much as five tonnes of soil and stones.

“In what was a physically demanding task, our crews showed extreme professionalism and compassion throughout, and showed exactly what being a firefighter means.

“It’s incidents like this that show how our staff will go above and beyond in order to provide a service which is second to none.”

Mr McKenna and his worried family called in the fire service after being unable to free Hook themselves.

The fire service were alerted to the problem on Saturday at 4.20pm but only managed to free Hook on Sunday morning at 9am, having stopped the rescue attempt the previous evening when it became too dark.

Firefighters spent several hours digging and finally managed to locate Hook using a specialist telescopic camera.

Mr McKenna’s brother-in-law Stephen Cobain said: “We took him to the vet for a check-up and he’s totally fine – he’s now jumping about as if nothing happened.

“It was a tough and emotional few days, but the firefighters did such a fantastic job.”