A family thought they lost their beloved pet dog, after it got stuck under their house in a rabbit hole at the weekend.
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Emergency crews were called to rescue the dog, Nugget, from the burrow under a concrete slab on Saturday, October 30.
Just after 11am, Bega and Narooma VRA Rescue Squad crews arrived at the Cobargo home to help coax Nugget out of the hole.
Owners, Guy, Angus and Tania Lingard had been digging and calling Nugget for hours.
"It became apparent that Nugget had done himself a mischief and got himself stuck under the concrete slab near the bathroom," Ms Lingard said.
Malcolm Barry of Narooma Rescue Squad said the rabbit burrow could have been more than a metre deep. He said it was instinct for terriers to hunt rabbits.
"We could hear the dog, but didn't want to dig too far under the house foundation," he said.
Unfortunately, due to confined space and the concrete structure, Mr Barry said crews left the scene, unable to get the dog out.
They recommended to leave food and water out, with hopes Nugget would come out on his own.
It was the most awful feeling being able to hear him, but not being able to reach him ...
"It had been a long day and we were running out of ideas," Ms Lingard said.
At about 7pm on Saturday night, the family decided on the last resort ...
"The only thing to do was cut a hole in our floor to get him out," Ms Lingard said.
"It was the most awful feeling being able to hear him, but not being able to reach him."
Ms Lingard said an evening on the tools was hard work.
"We were all exhausted and couldn't continue after starting to cut the floor Saturday night - what a job!"
After a restless night's sleep, the family woke up early Sunday morning, thinking the worst.
"Guy went back under the house and started calling him," Ms Lingard said.
"Nugget responded, so we got stuck into getting him out. Guy had only just started jack hammering when Angus saw Nugget's head pop out.
"It was amazing Guy had cut the floor in just the right spot. We were all very relieved to have Nugget out."
Ms Lingard said Nugget wasn't sure what all the fuss was about.
"It wasn't what we were expecting for our weekend, but a great outcome and lots of mess to clean up," she said.
The family thanked the VRA Rescue Squads.
