Pet labrador emerges unhurt from debris

Surat: Divine providence revealed itself yet again but for Snipe, an eight-year-old Labrador Retriever, this time, helping it escape unhurt when a four-storied apartment collapsed at Ambika Niketan in Athwalines here in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Labrador Retriever, which is known for its good temperament, got left behind in the fourth floor of Vishal Darshan Apartment during evacuation of the residents by Fire Brigade personnel when it began to tilt to one side at 1am. Kaushal Vatani, 65, realized that he had forgotten to bring along with him Snipe, but then no one was ready to go upstairs to bring it out, not even Fire Brigade personnel. Vatani alerted his son Krish, who was in Daman, about the building’s condition and also Snipe. Krish contacted Prayas Team Environment, an NGO, for help.
“When our team reached the site, the building was tilting. It was too risky to get inside to rescue the dog. We asked Fire Brigade team to use their hydraulic platform to rescue the dog, but they said it would be risky,” PTE volunteer Darshan Desai said.
At around 4am when the structure collapsed, Vatani family gave up Snipe for dead. The family was not concerned about loss of valuables due to collapse of their apartment, but crestfallen over Snipe, their lovely dog.
But it was not all over yet for Snipe, a breed that evokes awe. It exhibited excellent survival skills and got on top of the debris after three hours of struggle. At the break of dawn, residents of neighbouring building noticed some movement on top of the debris. They immediately informed the Vatani family. Fire Brigade personnel along with Krish rescued a shivering Snipe from the mound of debris, which was akin to resurrection of hope from a valley of devastation.