Earthquake Equipment Saves Hampshire Dog

3 August 2011, 14:33 | Updated: 3 August 2011, 16:46

After four-year-old cocker spaniel Ivy got trapped in a fox hole, firefighters used the same equipment to free her that helped save people trapped in the New Zealand earthquake.

Ivy was stuck deep inside an old fox hole in woods near Newbury when a member of the public saw her and called Hampshire Fire and Rescue.

A specialist rescue officer used a mirror and torch to see Ivy before the Urban Search and Rescue Team arrived. 

They used specialist equipment including a flexible search camera and listening devices to monitor Ivy whilst she was dug out of the hole.

The equipment was recently used in the Japan and New Zealand earthquake rescues. A spokesman told Heart:

"It took two hours to free her. She had been trapped to her hips with her front legs stuck under her chest so she couldn't claw her way out. Once free, she was handed to the RSPCA, who took her to a local vet to be kept overnight on a drip. She's now making a full recovery at home."