Just before 8:30 a.m. on Friday, October 16, a female border collie climbed out of a roughly 10-foot sinkhole near Chiefland, Florida, and landed in her owner’s arms. Firefighters, volunteers and road-department crews worked through the morning to reach her, while a local contractor supplied equipment. WCJB reported that the dog showed no apparent injuries. What began as a pre-dawn emergency ended with her back beside her owner.
Chiefland Fire Rescue’s official update, quoted in WCJB’s report, says a call came in at about 5:55 a.m. about a dog in a sinkhole near Tradewinds Farm in Levy County. WCJB identified the dog as a female border collie and described the opening as about 10 feet deep. WCJB and WCTV published separate reports later that day.
The reports use slightly different time markers. WCJB and the fire department’s update put the call at about 5:55 a.m.; WCTV says the dog had been trapped since about 5 a.m. Both place the incident Friday morning and the rescue later that morning. The sources do not establish the exact moment she fell, so the call time should not be mistaken for the time of the fall. They also do not establish an exact time spent in the sinkhole. The supported description is that crews worked for more than two hours before she got out.
Jones Masonry, a local concrete contractor, brought a mini excavator to help with the digging, according to WCJB. WCTV also reports that a local contractor brought an excavator. Fire crews began digging around the sinkhole, but rock kept the machine from digging far enough. Crews continued digging until the dog could get out. Neither report gives more detail about the excavation, so the method beyond those described steps remains unknown.
The response included people and equipment from several parts of the community. Chiefland Fire Rescue’s update, as quoted by WCJB, lists Engine and Fire 71, two volunteers and the county road department among those who took part. WCJB also names Jones Masonry as the company that supplied the mini excavator. WCTV independently confirms that firefighters and road-department crews were at the scene. The reports do not identify every responder or describe how individuals divided the work.
The reporting is limited but consistent on the outcome. WCJB provides the rescue timeline and details about the equipment, and it quotes Chiefland Fire Rescue’s public update. WCTV’s separate report confirms the contractor’s mini excavator, the fire and road crews, and the dog jumping into her owner’s arms. Their accounts differ on when the dog became trapped, so the time references remain attributed rather than combined into one precise timeline.
After crews continued digging, the border collie jumped out of the sinkhole and into her owner’s arms. WCJB says the rescue was completed just before 8:30 a.m.; WCTV describes the same reunion but does not give an end time. The fire department’s update establishes that the call concerned a dog in the sinkhole, while local reporting supplies the rescue sequence. Together, the accounts document a safe return after a long morning response.
WCJB said the dog was left with no apparent injuries. The reports do not give her name or age, identify her owner, or say whether a veterinarian examined her afterward. They include no later medical update. The available reporting supports a limited description: she got out, returned to her owner and was not reported to have apparent injuries. That early observation should not be read as a later health assessment.
Neither report explains what caused the sinkhole or describes its repair. The cause and any follow-up remain unreported; the accounts focus on the rescue and the people who responded that morning.
The reports show firefighters, volunteers and road-department personnel responding, with Jones Masonry supplying equipment. They do not name every person involved, but they document several local contributors working toward the same immediate goal: getting the dog out safely. Before 8:30, the border collie was back in her owner’s arms.
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