Marta Caproni was on a leisurely walk with her two dogs, Romeo and Tommy, when Romeo went missing.
The dogs and their humans live across the street from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. They frequently walk off-leash and explore their surroundings while staying close to their pawrents. This day was different because Romeo decided to go on an adventure all on his own.
His exploration turned dangerous when he fell 20 feet into a huge crack in the earth’s surface. Marta and her boyfriend searched all night for the pup and couldn’t find him. The following day, she heard a faint whimpering from inside a crack located in the park. She immediately notified rescuers.
The rescuers were able to get a harness around Romeo and pull him to safety. Amazingly, he was unharmed. Romeo’s is not the first pup to fall down one of these cracks, but he is one of the only ones to survive. For that reason, dogs are not permitted in many areas of the park and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park said this in a press release:
“All pets and service dogs must be leashed in the park at all times. Hikers have reported being bitten by dogs off leash on park trails, and other pets have fallen into earth cracks and steam vents and have not survived.”
Marta is grateful to everyone who helped save Romeo and said that she will keep both of her dogs on a leash from now on.
