Last week, 17-year-old Jared Johnson found himself in deep trouble–literally!
The teen had been using machinery to dig a hole for a project on the family’s property in Loris, South Carolina. When he stepped off the equipment, he slid into the 10-foot hole, sinking up to his chest in mud. Completely stuck, Johnson hollered for help for an hour…
Meanwhile, Johnson’s brother, Chris Cooper, returned home from work around 4:00 that evening. He let Tuxx, a two-year-old Pit Bull mix, outside to use the bathroom. But when the pup was brought back in the house, he refused to settle down.
“He was barking and fussing at me, wanting me to get up and go to the door,” said Cooper in a story by The Sun News.
Thinking the young dog just wanted to play, Cooper threw a ball for a game of fetch–but Tuxx wasn’t interested.
“I knew something wasn’t right. I knew that wasn’t like him,” Cooper explained in the story. “I know my dog really well, and I knew that wasn’t like him, so I followed him and when I did that’s what we found,” he said of his trapped brother.
Johnson was shaken, but alive. “He said he was hollering. He was praying. He was doing anything he could do. He didn’t know what to do,” Cooper explained to The Sun News.
Because the ground was unstable and could cave in, they called fire and rescue crews to the scene. A team of about 50 people worked to facilitate the risky rescue, knowing that with one wrong move, the teen could be buried alive.
“It was terrifying. I mean, it’s unexplainable. There’s nothing you can say to explain it,” said Cooper of watching his brother’s rescue. But after 5 long hours of the crew’s diligent and careful work, Johnson was finally lifted from the hole, and his family’s prayers were answered.
Despite the traumatic experience, this teen is “doing great.” And his grateful family knows that things could’ve ended a lot worse.
“He’s very lucky. He’s very fortunate,” Cooper said in the story.
And it’s all thanks to one persistent pooch, who wouldn’t stop until help was on the way. If Tuxx hadn’t found Johnson when he did, the hole could’ve collapsed in on him completely.
Way to go, Tuxx! You’re certainly a hero in our book!
(h/t: The Sun News via Myrtle Beach Online)
