A family took their dog Winston for a stroll in Diamond Jubilee Wood in Leicestershire, England, and they had no idea that he would end up in a tunnel by the side of the road that was concealed by a holly bush.

Everything suggests that Winston got himself into this situation because of his curiosity and was unable to escape the sticky muck of the little badger-made tunnels.

Winston’s adoptive mother, Heather, alerted the local rescue groups, but it would be exceedingly challenging to save Winston because badgers are legally protected. Therefore, it is advised that everyone wait 48 hours before taking any action when a dog goes missing.

According to Heather, the BBC:

“The previous several days have been awful. We are very powerless in light of Winston’s situation.

The woman sought the authorities to get a permission but received no answer until Tuesday, when good news arrived. After almost three days, Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service said that they responded to the call before midday and arrived at the area without delay.

A team from the RSPCA was also there, along with numerous specialist search teams, when firefighters arrived.

Heather added:

“We genuinely believed we had already lost him when firemen started looking for him, and we were psychologically preparing for the worst.”

They located Winston’s muddled barks with the aid of GPS and sound sensors, and determined precisely where to dig to free him. As the rescue had to be done cautiously to avoid everything from collapsing, the team had to call for assistance in order to continue the excavation.
As Heather said:

“When we finally saw her small face peeking out of the muck,” I started crying again.

Winston was finally rescued after five hours and taken from the area where he had been imprisoned for 60 hours.