Dog spends 18 hours in mine shaft after rabbit chase

A dog had nothing more than a few scratches to show for his ordeal after spending 18 hours in the depths of a West Coast mine shaft.

Hokitika couple Graham Kirby and Rosemary Lawry were walking their two dogs near Blue Spur outside Hokitika last week when a rabbit sent the dogs racing into the undergrowth.

The smaller dog, a labrador, soon returned, but Jag, their four-year-old former police dog, did not.

The german shepherd had fallen 11 metres down a disused mine shaft but hours of searching by his owners failed to find him.

"I thought he was gone," Ms Lawry told The Press. "but Graham was determined to find him regardless."

They returned the next morning and found another 15 derelict mine shafts, some obscured by vegetation and some filled with water.

About noon, 18 hours after Jag disappeared, Ms Lawry's brother Hamish shone his torch down a shaft and spotted him.

"He hadn't barked or made a sound," Ms Lawry said.

With the help of the local volunteer fire brigade, Mr Kirby was lowered into the shaft to rescue Jag.

The dog emerged half an hour later with a few scratches and a cut above his eye.

- NZPA