Dog saved by last ditch hunt

By Kath Gannaway
EVERY dog has his day.
For German shepherd-kelpie cross Ralph that day has to be the day he met Shire of Yarra Ranges ranger Jock Smart and Hoddles Creek resident Lynne Davidson.
Eight-year-old Ralph was back home with his relieved owners last week after spending five days trapped in an abandoned mine shaft in Kurth Kiln state forest.
Mr Smart climbed down a ladder and carried the distressed and weak dog to the surface but he said it was Ms Davidson’s keen ear and persistence that led to Ralph’s rescue.
Ms Davidson heard barking in the bush as she walked along Gembrook Road on Saturday morning, the day after Ralph went missing.
“The second morning I heard it again and I could hear it crying as well and knew that something was wrong,” Ms Davidson said.
But a search by one of the shire’s rangers on Sunday found nothing.
On Tuesday Ms Davidson said she knew the dog was still there and that there was something very wrong.
“I was listening for it but I could only barely hear his bark and cries and knew it was in a bad way,” she said.
Another call to the ranger and another search of the area led to an overgrown patch of bush and Ralph.
“We just went walking through the bush whistling and calling when we heard a weak ‘whoof’ and we realised he was down a sort of mine-shaft,” Mr Smart told the Mail.
“The dog was clearly on its last legs and if it hadn’t been for Lynne it would not have survived much longer.”
Lucky for Ralph, he was wearing a registration tag and was quickly reunited with his Hoddles Creek owners.
Ms Davidson said it was obvious Ralph was someone’s pet by the way he responded to his rescuers.
“I’m just glad it’s all had a happy ending,” she said.
Ralph gave a resounding ‘woof’ to that!