Donnybrook pup Sage meets heroes who saved her after two-days stuck at bottom of a 5m deep mine shaft

The eight-month old puppy who escaped a two-day ordeal at the bottom of a mineshaft unscathed has met her rescuers in an emotional reunion at the Bunbury Fire Station. Sage went missing from her family’s property near Donnybrook on July 13 and spent nearly two days at the bottom of the five-metre deep mineshaft. Family, friends and community members searched frantically for her, before SES and DFES crews from Donnybrook and Bunbury helped pull the cold and wet but uninjured puppy to safety. Owner Cassie Warren took the family pet to meet her rescuers on Wednesday, including senior firefighter Adam Bernhagan, who climbed down the ladder to attach Sage to two slings, which were used to pull her out. “We decided to use a ladder to make access and our main concern was if she’s injured, dogs can get a bit snappy,” he said. “We took enough gear down there to rescue her and maybe even restrict her movements if we needed to. “Once we got down there she was happy as anything and very excitable. Mr Bernhagen said an excitable Sage gave him a “face wash” when he met her at the bottom of the shaft. “She was nervous initially but once we got down there and she realised what was going on she was just licking my face and jumping up on me,” he said. “It actually made the rescue more difficult and a bit more time consuming because it is quite a small space. “We put her on a couple of slings and the boys pulled her out and she gave them the same attention up top.” He said not every call-out had a happy ending, so it was pleasing to have a positive outcome. “It is good to have a feel-good incident, we all had smiles on the way home,” Mr Bernhagen said.