A hunting trip over the weekend turned into a rescue after a dog fell into a hole in the woods in Rutherford County.
Ronnie Farley and his son traveled from Dunlap to a wooded area on Central Valley Road with their hunting dog Willie.
Farley said Willie, a six-year-old Beagle, was chasing a rabbit when he fell into an eight foot hole.
"Fortunately I have a tracking system on him. It led me right to him but I never did see him. It has a tone button on him and I could hear it under the ground and then you can hear some whimpers, and you knew he was way down there," Farley told NewsChannel 5 on the phone.
Officials with the Rutherford County Fire Department said that Farley searched for his dog for about three hours before alerting authorities.
"I was just wanting advice on how to get him out and they took off and did it," said Farley.
Crews with the Rutherford County Fire Department, Rutherford County Special Operations Team and Rutherford County PAWS responded.
It took them nearly two hours to pull Willie out because they had to dig an even bigger hole.
"It was pretty much the only access that wasn't surround in rock. So we started digging from there until we could get a big enough of an access to stick one of the guys down in and try to find the dog," said Randall Potts, a firefighter.
"We don't get dogs stuck in holes very often. It definitely wasn't a call we were expecting to get that day," added Doug Roell, a Rutherford County fire engineer.
Farley said he is thankful for everyone that got involved. Willie did not sustain any injuries and seemed to be doing much better two days later.
"When I left for work this morning he was sitting on top of his dog house in the sun, so he's pretty good," said Farley.
