Firefighters in Northwest Arkansas rescued a dog Tuesday evening after a hiker spotted the mutt was stuck inside a small cave.
About 5 p.m., animal control officers and firefighters trekked through Kessler Mountain Regional Park, where Molly, the yellow Labrador-pit bull mix, was discovered. A hiker spotted Molly's companion, a Beagle mix named Emma, along a trail and heard barking cries for help off in the distance, said Shannon Rankin, programs administrator with the Fayetteville animal shelter.
The hiker called animal control officers after finding Molly in a tight spot.
"They couldn't figure out how the dog actually got into the space," Rankin said. "They hypothesized that once it got in there maybe a piece of rock or something shifted and then it couldn't get back out."
Firefighters hammered and chiseled away until the hole was large enough for Molly to scoot out. The activity made her a little nervous, Battalion Chief Willie Watts said.
"I think she had been in there for a little bit of time and was in a predicament," he said. "She was unable to move a whole lot — I mean, she was in a pretty tight spot."
Eventually, Molly came out unscathed, save for a few marks from trying to force her way out. The operation took about three hours.
Molly expressed her gratitude in the only way dogs know how.
"She was tail-wagging and the whole bunch," Watts said. "She was glad to see the guys, that's for sure."
Turns out Molly and Emma live close by and had gotten loose. The owners showed up to the animal shelter Wednesday morning and retrieved their lost pups.