Loyal dog stood guard by trapped friend for a week

A loyal dog stood guard by its trapped friend for a week until the pair were found. Tillie, a setter, and Phoebe, a basset hound, had been missing for a week when Vashon Island Pet Protectors in Washington state posted a desperate plea on Facebook last weekend in a last ditch effort to help find the two much-loved pets. VIPP recieved a phonecall earlier this week from someone who said for the last few days a "reddish" dog had come up to their property and then dashed back into a nearby ravine.



Acting on this slim lead, volunteers arrived at the property hoping that the reddish dog was indeed Tillie. After a brief search of the nearby ravine, they heard a slight bark when they called out "Tillie". What the volunteers found a few minutes later was something truly moving. Tillie was standing guard on the edge of a concrete tank where she had been looking out for Phoebe, who - because of her short legs - had been unable to get out of the hole for the past week.

VIPP described the find on their Facebook page: "So with a needle in the haystack hope we made our way into the ravine and after a bit of searching, finally heard that sweet sound we have been waiting for all week. A small one-woof response when we called out “Tillie.” A few minutes later we found her laying beside an old cistern with her head resting on the concrete wall.



"Heart sinking … we knew that meant Phoebe was inside the cistern and every breath was held and every doggie prayer offered that the peek over the rim would somehow find her safe. And gratefully… this time we have a happy ending with dear Phoebe found perched on some concrete rubble that held her out of the water. For nearly a week Tillie stayed by her side with the exception of the few minutes of each day when she went for help." Both dogs were cold and hungry but are doing well. Amy Carey with VIPP said that the remarkable discovery shows how unbreakable pack-bonds are in dogs and that it's a good reminder for owners never to give up searching for missing pets.