A tiny dog has miraculously survived being swept down a river and becoming trapped in a cave for 24 hours.
Mitzy the Shih Tzu fell 15ft from a field into the River Severn when she was out for a walk with her owners Michael and Pat Terleckyi.
They were holidaying at Riverside Caravan Park in Brignorth, Shropshire, when the accident happened.
The pair from Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, were convinced Mitzy was dead and they would never see her again.
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Michael said: "We walked the riverbanks for hours and hours and just couldn’t find her.
"The site warden was looking, along with a number of residents and a huge number of people on social media, but with no luck.
"We thought we had lost her to the Severn and were advised to return home to Wolverhampton for the night.
“Overnight we didn’t get a wink of sleep – we couldn’t help feeling she had surely drowned, but still held on with hope.”
But the following day, 21-year-old Macauley Carpenter heard the faint whimpering of a dog while out walking with his family.
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He said: "As we left the house we heard a dog crying down by the river so we went and checked it out.
“We all saw Mitzy stuck in a cave down by the river so we phoned the fire brigade as soon as we could.
“Someone was able to get a canoe onto the river and crawled into the cave to rescue her.
“My girlfriend called the owners, who started crying over the phone saying they thought she was a goner – it was a lovely moment.”
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Brave rescuers managed to launch a canoe into the fast moving river and get to the terrified pooch.
Michael said: "Everyone involved was very brave to be able to find her and get down to the cave, which was surrounded by overgrowth, and a big thank you to the people of Bridgnorth for your support and giving us hope.”
