GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. -- A family puppy is in critical condition at a veterinary hospital, after the male golden retriever named Beasley fell 35 feet down a Goochland County well.
It happened outside a home on Northfield Road near Shallow Well Road around 9:30 Thursday night.
When Goochland County Fire & Rescue crews got to the scene, they realized they needed help and called for mutual aid from Henrico County's Technical Rescue Team.
Henrico crews developed a plan on the way to the scene, Capt. Mark Cumashot with Henrico County's Technical Rescue Team said.
“We just defaulted into what I call our playbook,” Cumashot said. "It was a very straight forward rescue. Access, packaging and recovery without any issues. And the good thing is that we’ve had some experience with this before. We've had a similar training..."
Crews were able to safely removed the puppy in about 15 minutes.
Beasley's owner, Katie Allen says the accident happened because a maintenance worker left the top off of the well.
Allen says that when her boyfriend heard the dog’s bark echo, his heart sank because he knew the dog had fallen in the well.
"You could see him splashing and kind of freaking out," Allen said. "You could see he was breathing heavy and that he was starting to get exhausted. The whole time we’re freaking out that we’re going to watch him die.”
Allen tells CBS 6 they rushed Beasley to a nearby veterinarian, but they don't have enough money to pay for a $3,000 deposit required to start care for the dog. Veterinary Referral and Critical Care (VRCC) is working to raise funds for the owners.
Allen says the vet bill may exceed $7,000.
She says Beasley has fluid around his lungs and heart and is in critical condition.
Beasley
"We still don't know if he has any broken bones because the main goal is to just get the fluid drained and to get more oxygen," said Allen.
“We have high hopes he will pull through. Any donation is appreciated as well as all the prayers possible,” Allen wrote on a GoFundMe page.
Allen says they have reached out to the property manager to see if they will cover the vet costs because the lid of the well should have been put back in place.
