Hunter Alexander from the Kursk region spent five days looking underground for his dog Nora. She ended up in a badger town, and the owner had to dig 10 two-meter holes.
A story with a happy ending is told on February 11 “Kursk News”. Last Saturday, February 5, Alexander went hunting with a friend and his 5-year-old dog Nora of the Jagdterrier breed. At some point, Nora discovered a fresh fox track and overtook her. She slipped away to the old badger town.
“There is a whole subway underground. I didn’t see it, but I figured it out. And it had a tracker on it. He showed that she was there. But the signal does not come from underground, ”says the hunter. He hoped that the dog would find a way out on its own or the badger would kick it out, but 4 hours of waiting were in vain. Alexander went home for a crowbar and a shovel, returned and dug until dark. It was not clear in which of the otnorks the dog was located, so the place was chosen at random.
“The next day I took time off from work and asked my friends to help me. Several people responded. One friend was with me from start to finish. There were six of us in total. Just someone periodically came and left. They also had to work, – says the hunter. We dug about three holes a day until dark. The ground is frozen by 20–30 cm. But the difficulty is that there are a lot of trees around and it was necessary to dig carefully so as not to damage their roots. They climbed into holes, shouted and whistled, but nothing was heard. I hardly slept that day.”
At some point, Alexander heard thumps under the ground and began to dig there. Hearing a wheeze and heavy breathing in the distance, I realized that I had correctly determined the direction. “They dug the hole again. Heard this breathing closer. And badgers plug their burrows with corks made of grass and branches for the winter. This is to keep you warm. From one of these traffic jams, this wheezing was heard. They dug another hole, and there my Nora’s hind legs and her tail were sticking out of the hole. And I was able to pull it out. Thank God she was alive, ”says the man.
The dog was breathing very heavily, she was severely dehydrated, she could not even stand on her paws. The eyes and nose were clogged with sand and clay. She was washed, gradually began to give food and vitamins. Now I have to treat her for ticks.
This season, Alexander decided not to hunt anymore, and for the next season, buy Nora an expensive collar with a tracker that can be tracked underground. He also intends to return to the forest to try to rebuild the badger town and fill in the holes.
