The deep, narrow hole in the photo below was made to hold a support pole during construction of a building. After receiving a call that a dog had fallen into the hole, an Animal Rahat rescue team rushed to the site.

The hole was so dark and deep that the only thing that could be seen was the reflection of the dog’s eyes at the bottom—and so narrow that no human could reach her.

It was time to go “dog fishing.” The team lowered a rope with a loop and miraculously managed to lasso her and lift her out.

The hole was immediately covered with a large, flat stone. The team then took the dog to Animal Rahat’s Solapur office, gave her food and water, and let her rest for a day before spaying and vaccinating her. After she spent another day recovering in the office, she was released—under the watchful eye of a volunteer who lives nearby—in the same area where she’d been rescued. Not only was the dear dog saved from starving to death at the bottom of a hole, she was also inoculated against rabies and won’t be bringing more puppies into a world in which every day is a struggle to survive.