This story does not have the kind of happy ending that Dr. Sharon Minninger hoped for. But it could have been even sadder than how it turned out, she said.
The veterinarian at Telford Animal Hospital in Franconia has treated many injured dogs and cats brought to her by local emergency responders. The Souderton Fire Company once sought her help to free a hawk that ensnared its leg in tree branches.
“It’s always rewarding,” she said.
But the rescue call Wednesday evening was a first for Minninger.
Someone at the Hilltown Township Volunteer Fire Company reached out to her husband. He is a former emergency medical services worker and the couple have a lot of close connections with local emergency responders.
Firefighters were at a call with a severely injured dog. A Labrador retriever had wandered onto the Chalfont Quarry off Skunk Hollow Road and fallen off a ledge.
The dog plunged 55 feet — higher than a five-story building — and landed on a rock bed at the bottom of a pit.
Could Dr. Minninger talk them through how to best extricate the dog or maybe come to the scene? the caller asked.
The doctor, her husband, and a vet tech immediately drove to the quarry.
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When they arrived, Minninger thought it was miraculous that a quarry employee found the injured dog at all. The property is massive and there are huge piles of stone and rock everywhere, she said.
The 50-pound Labrador retriever had landed behind a rock embankment not easily seen.
“It was amazing that anyone saw him,” she said. “You have a thought about what a quarry is and you get in there and you have no idea what a quarry is. It is miraculous that he was found.”
The vet knew the injured dog was in good hands with the firefighters. After all, she had trained them herself.
The Hilltown Township Volunteer Fire Company was the first company in the area to complete her class in basic emergency medical care and safe handling of animals. Minninger offers the training for firefighters and other first responders who often encounter pets at scenes.
The animal hospital started offering the classes in 2018, paused during the COVID pandemic and recently restarted the training, she said.
Hilltown Township’s Rescue 60 fire crew administered oxygen to the dog while waiting for the doctor to make the seven-mile drive. The firefighters knew to be careful because injured dogs will bite because they don’t understand why they are in pain.
“They knew there were things they should and shouldn’t do,” Minninger said.
It’s unknown how the dog was found, or by whom. Hilltown Township Volunteer Fire Company posted about the rescue on Facebook Thursday, but then removed the post. An official declined comment when contacted by this news organization.
Minninger said the dog was breathing but not moving when she arrived at the scene.
She could immediately tell the injuries were significant. Her biggest concern was about potential spinal fractures given not only the distance of the fall, but the fact that the dog had landed on a rock bed.
Firefighters assisted in stabilizing and carrying the dog out to the animal hospital’s waiting vehicle.
The dog was alive when they arrived at the hospital, where Minninger was able to learn his name and his story.
He was known as B. Just the one letter. He was more than 10 years old, a senior citizen in animal years.
His human family were visiting the area for the upcoming Easter holiday. They aren’t from around here. Somehow, B managed to slip out of a home on Callowhill Road, not far from the quarry.
His family reported him missing to Hilltown Police, Chief Chris Engelhart said.
But B was unfamiliar with the area, and wandered about a half mile onto the quarry property where he fell.
Once at the hospital, it became clear that B had a serious back injury and partial paralysis of his hind legs. He did not survive.
If there is any good that comes out of this story, Minninger said, it’s the extraordinary lengths that were taken to find him, make him comfortable, and give his family the chance to say goodbye.
“And he knew they were there. His family got that time with him,” she said. “If everyone hadn’t done their parts, they wouldn’t know what happened to him.”
