Missing Pilbara dog survives days inside mine ore ‘dumper’ before being plucked to safety

A Pilbara pup has been hailed as a miracle for emerging unscathed after surviving for days inside a giant chute into which thousands of tonnes of iron ore is tipped daily. Karratha rescue pup Shanny had been missing from her Dampier home for four days after running away during a thunderstorm. And owner Eloise Dortch had almost given up hope of finding her missing mutt when she received news the dog was alive inside the so-called “dumper” where trains dump iron ore before it is loaded on to ships. Rio Tinto port facility workers spotted Shanny perched on one of the sloping walls of the dumper, clinging on with her back legs hooked on bolt heads. Travis Burrows, who is in Rio Tinto’s emergency response team, was shocked to receive the call. “I was a bit taken aback,” he said. “I never had a call like this one — this was the weirdest one I’ve had so far.” Shanny managed to survive in the dumper for at least two days, somehow avoiding the more than 100,000 tonnes of iron ore that was poured in during that time. A ranger and the Rio Tinto team were able to loop a restraint around her neck and pull her out to safety. “It’s absolutely crazy to think how much iron ore had been tipped,” Mr Burrows said. “It’s a miracle.” Ms Dortch said she had begun to worry her beloved rescue mutt would never be found. “She’s the kind of dog that if she was in trouble would seek humans to help her, so I was starting to think she’s unconscious or dead,” she said. Ms Dortch expected Shanny to be in a bad way after her ordeal — but as it turned out she hadn’t even suffered a scratch. “They brought Shanny around to my boyfriend’s house and that’s apparently the first time she started wagging her tail,” she said. “She was covered in dust but pretty much otherwise fine. She was a bit hungry, a little bit thirsty, and quieter than normal, but by the morning she was back to her noisy self.” Ms Dortch still took her to the vet because it “seemed a bit hard to believe” but other than sore eyes from the dust and some missing hair, Shanny came out unscathed. Since her miraculous recovery, Shanny has become a bit of a celebrity in town. “She’s had a photograph taken with a few staff and when we went to the pub the other night people asked to have a photo with her,” Ms Dortch said, She put Shanny’s survival down to her being a Pilbara mix breed, or a “Pilbara pedigree” as they are often referred to. “She just must be extra tough,” she said.