Daisy, a springer spaniel, as being called a ‘hero hound’ mimicking Lassie. It is indeed a storyline worthy of the well-known animal film star Lassie. Michele Rose, 59, lives with Daisy, the springer spaniel and Mowgli, a black-and-white cat and Baloo another cat.
Mowgli went missing and despite Michele’s best efforts for six days she couldn’t find him. She was convinced that he was lost. In fact, Mowgli has fallen down an old, disused mine shaft not far from her home.
Michele and her companions live in the Cornish village of Harrowbarrow, UK. It’s near the south Devon border.
And over the six days that the retired primary school teacher was looking for Mowgli, she noticed that Daisy kept on going berserk running in and out of the woods near her home.
And then eventually, Daisy, who is two years of age, guided Michele along a footpath towards the old Prince of Wales Mine before suddenly “stopping dead in her tracks” next to the mineshaft which was fenced off.
And then low and behold, Michele heard faint meowing sounds coming from deep underground and instantly realised that it must be Mowgli.
She told news media that, “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.”
And so the rescue began. Michele called the RSPCA and they and the Cornwall Fire and Rescue became involved. Unfortunately, at the time Michele found Mowgli it was getting dark and the rescue team said that it was too dark to go down the mineshaft.
And so Michele had another sleepless night wondering about Mowgli and whether he was okay and would survive and whether they would be able to rescue him.
And then, next day, soon after sunrise, two fire and rescue teams from Liskeard and Bodmin turned up. The team included two rope specialists and they were joined by Steven Findlow an RSPCA animal rescue officer.
They could just about see Mowgli, a hundred feet down the shaft. They photographed and sent the photograph to Rose to check that they had found the right cat. Question: what if it was another cat?
The RSPCA admitted that it was a tricky rescue. Eight fire officers used ropes to descend the mineshaft. They managed to catch Mowgli who was in good condition and placed him in a cat carrier. He was lifted to safety on the surface.
Rose watched the rescue with Daisy and her other pet cat Baloo, who has a very close relationship with Mowgli. Once Mowgli was on the surface, Baloo greeted her with a friendly nose touch wild Mowgli was in his carrier.
Rose mentioned that she had adopted both Baloo and Mowgli as kittens in December and introduced them in the usual gentle way to Daisy who was the resident companion animal at the time.
Rose added: “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 is very protective of them.”
Hamish, Rose’s eldest son, training to be a vet at the University of Liverpool, said that Mowgli was very pleased to see everybody. He added that, “Mum takes great pride in our animals and they keep her company.”
Mowgli was taken to Calweton Veterinary Group for a checkup just to make sure that he had not incurred any injuries. He was all right but he had lost 2 kg. This begs the question as to whether he had anything to eat for those six days or indeed drink. I have an article about how long a cat can survive without food or water which might interest you [click this link to read it].
The veterinarian said that, “Remarkably Mowgli was completely unscathed and was extremely happy to be back with his owner. What a lucky cat and what a clever dog Daisy is.”
Hamish chipped in by saying that, “If Daisy wasn’t the favourite child, she definitely is now. She has done pretty well, I will give her that.”
The story is a reminder of the very close relationships that dogs can form with domestic cats. They certainly enhance the lives of both dog and cat and help to make the family home a warm and welcoming one.
