Missing dog’s lift out of a Charlotte quarry ends with a lot of tail wagging
Zeus couldn’t stop wagging his tail when Charlotte firefighters saved him after he was trapped in a quarry for days.
On Monday, Charlotte Fire got a call about two dogs who were stuck in a quarry at Vulcan Materials Co. off Old Nations Ford Road near Interstate 485 in southwest Charlotte.
The dogs were on a ledge, about 170 feet down in the quarry. Firefighters and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Animal Care and Control determined there was “no safe way” to rescue them, according to a news release.
A drone was used to check on the dogs’ conditions. That’s when first responders learned one of the dogs had died.
To rescue Zeus, a year-old husky and pit bull mix, Vulcan Materials brought in a crane from Superior Cranes to lower a firefighter into the quarry.
The crane arrived Wednesday. A CFD rescue team was lowered into the quarry to retrieve Zeus.
As the dog and his rescuers were brought up, Zeus’ “tail was wagging,” according to the release.
Zeus was checked out at an emergency animal hospital and reunited with his family.
The family’s 1-year-old Bella was identified as the dog that died in the quarry.
A “lost dog” post on Facebook helped Animal Care and Control find Bella and Zeus’ owners, who were not named by officials.
“The family was very happy and grateful to be reunited with Zeus,” according to the release. “They told us about him and showed us photos of him as a puppy. While sad about the loss of Bella, their other dog, they were thankful that Zeus was rescued.”
