'Superstar' dog saves missing cat after tracking it down to abandoned mineshaft

08 November 2023 , 17:18

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Hero dog Daisy took it upon herself to save Mowgli (Image: Calweton Veterinary Group/CornwallLive)

A lucky cat who plunged 100ft down a mine shaft was saved from certain death when his dog ‘mum’ incredibly came to the rescue.

Michele Rose had given up all hope of finding pet moggy Mowgli after he vanished without trace and failed to return home for six days. But her pet dog Daisy had other ideas - and alerted Michele by “going berserk” in woodland near their home.

She watched the pooch inexplicably running in and out of trees at the woods in Harrowbarrow, Cornwall. Michele decided to investigate further and was stunned when Daisy guided her along a footpath towards an old mine.

In scenes reminiscent of the 1950s US TV series Lassie, the dog “stopped dead in her tracks” next to a disused mineshaft. Michele called the RSPCA and Cornwall Fire and Rescue but it was too dark to access the mineshaft.

A cat has been safely rescued from a mineshaft in Cornwall thanks to the help of its family's clever dog. (Calweton Veterinary Group/CornwallLive)

But they returned the next morning and miraculously spotted Mowgli sitting 100ft down at the bottom. The team spent hours rescuing the startled but uninjured cat and he was eventually lifted to safety.

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Delighted Michele said: “Without Daisy doing that Mowgli could still be down there, that’s for sure. She was persistent in making me follow her, it was amazing. Daisy is a superstar. She’s an amazing dog.”

The family’s other cat, Baloo, greeted Mowgli after he was pulled up from the mineshaft. Michele adopted the two kittens in December last year and they formed a close-knit bond with Daisy.

She said: “Daisy was already a year old when the kittens arrived and they have all been inseparable ever since. She is quite matriarchal and puts up with them. They love her and she’s very protective of them.”

Adventurous cats often find themselves stuck in wells and disused mine shafts. In November last year a pet owner clambered into a 30ft well to rescue her moggy - but then got stuck herself.

Rescue teams in the South Australian town of Gawler were drafted in to save the red-faced cat lover.

Martin Fricker