I’ve been thinking about a story I heard about a dog called Ella.
Ella is a 14-year-old fox terrier from Adelaide who got spooked on a walk, bolted, and disappeared into a crevice in the Glenelg breakwater. She was stuck down there for five days. Rescuers found her with a drain camera, lowered in a cat trap, and lured her out with chicken. She survived on rainwater and came home safe.
Here’s the bit that got me. Ella didn’t run off because she wanted to. She got spooked and bolted, the way dogs do when fear takes over before thinking catches up. Once she was gone, she couldn’t know anyone was coming for her. All she knew was that she was alone. So she held on for five days anyway, waiting it out until someone found her.
And on the other side, a bunch of humans who had never met her decided they weren’t giving up either. Council workers, RSPCA volunteers, a stranger walking past who thought he heard something. Nobody clocked off until she was out.
That’s the whole job, really. Dogs will do almost anything to stay close to their people. Good thing the feeling tends to be mutual.
I’ll be at the park if anyone needs me.
