Tessa, a now famous yellow lab from Falmouth, is alive and well after an extensive rescue attempt this week.
The 11-year-old lab fell into a 12-foot sinkhole on Tuesday and firefighters from around the Cape spent two hours bringing the dog to safety during an effort that included a ladder truck, some ingenuity, and some pepperoni.
Tessa’s owner, David Velesig — a 20-year Falmouth resident — tells CAI News that he is grateful to the first responders that were on scene.
"At one point there were 36 emergency workers here trying to get the dog out of the hole. And I heard at least a dozen times, it was usually the younger guys, say, ‘I'll go in, I'll go in,’" Velesig said.
“For two hours, you've kind of forgotten about a war, you've forgotten about politics and you've forgotten about money, and you've forgotten about the other really big problems in the world. And everyone here was focused on this one task. And it was great,” he added.
The story has since claimed headlines nationally and even the BBC.
As to how first responders made the rescue, they were nervous about the sinkhole collapsing so ventured for an attempt from above. Velesig said a ladder from a fire engine was extended over the sinkhole. From there, first responders suspended rope from the truck, which was lowered into the hole. From there, pepperoni was used to coax Tessa onto an apparatus that first responders were able to hoist to the surface. Once there, a team pulled Tessa to safety.
When asked what the dog’s reaction was when she first landed on safe ground, Velesig said that she was acting normal within a minute.
“She was walking around ... she loves attention and she's kind of slow now. She walked to all the different responders, and they were great. They gave her a lot of love. It seemed like everyone wanted to pet her.”
As to how the sinkhole formed, firefighters and Velesig believe it was from water drainage over the last few decades flowing into that area of the yard. Velesig said that excavators on scene also discovered an abandoned cesspool in the area. The sinkhole was filled in on Tuesday.
Firefighters also said that Velesig did the right thing on Tuesday not trying to rescue the dog himself, noting that the sinkhole could have caved in on him.
