Rope team rappels down into a rock quarry to rescue a mutt named Rippy

NORTH CANAAN, Conn. (AP) — It was the barking that saved Rippy, a mutt that fell deep into a working rock quarry.

After passersby and even a drone failed to locate the lost dog, rescue workers drawn to his barks rappelled down the pit’s walls and lifted him out three days after he went missing, according to a social media post about the saga.

The 30-pound terrier mix’s owner reported Rippy missing in North Canaan on May 4. A local animal shelter got first word of the barking days later.

Shelter workers asked a volunteer to fly a drone over the Specialty Minerals quarry, but they couldn’t find him. When workers at the quarry went on a lunch break the next day, Rippy’s barks could be heard again. Quarry managers said they couldn’t reach the dog, so firefighters were called in. Two members of a rope team then rappelled off a cliff and captured the mutt.

“He could have been stuck there since Saturday night but no one will know for sure,” North Canaan Animal Control said in a social media post. “Rippy was caught and safely brought back up the cliff. I called his owner right away who came and picked him up so he could go home to decompress, get cleaned up and then checked out.”

Rescue workers said it’s not the first time an animal has fallen or become stuck in the quarry and some have not been as lucky as Rippy, who was not seriously injured.