Golden Retriever Saved by Chocolate Lab After Falling in a Sinkhole

A golden retriever in Illinois who fell into a sinkhole has another dog to thank for being saved.

Macy the golden retriever had fallen into a five-foot sinkhole and was missing for almost a full 24 hours, Streator Fire Chief Fred McClellan told Heart of Illinois ABC.

Wrigley, a chocolate lab, realized that Macy was in the hole and notified his owner while out at Marilla Park, according to a Facebook post from Streator Animal Control. 

Thanks to Wrigley, the Streator Fire Department was able to save Macy shortly after, according to their Facebook post.

Streator Animal Control posted a video of the rescue with the caption, "Kudos Streator Fire Department and to the doggo that alerted that Macy was in the hole!" 

In the video, firefighters are shown trying to pull Macy out of the hole, and McClellan loses his balance and the hole gets larger. 

"If you can see me falling, it was because the ground started to break on my one foot underneath, so I stepped across the hole to grab and then it collapsed again. Luckily, my engineer, Tim Redd was able to finish pulling the dog out safely," McClellan said.

McClellan wrapped webbing around Macy while in the hole, but struggled to free himself, he told the outlet. 

Streator Animal Control shared a photo on Facebook of the muddy golden retriever sitting in her owner's car after being rescued.

"Wrigley very easily also could have fallen into the sinkhole, but luckily everything worked out!" Streator Animal Control said. 

Streator Animal Control says that Macy is doing fine, sharing an updated photo of Macy in the comment section.

Locals were asked to avoid Marilla Park, which Streator Animal Control noted "is built on mines," until the area was secure.

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