Tonight is a night we will never forget! It started out just like any other night... Dave came home from a hard days work... ten hours per day is not unusual. A tad beat, he still always manages to muster up enough energy to do several farm chores and chop wood and kindling for a nice evening fire.

I joined him outside to herd up all the farm animals, six pygmy goats, eight frisky little ducks, 12 fussy hens, two handsome roosters, numerous rabbits that come and go at leisure, two fat labs (father and daughter) and one, always vocal, portly pot bellied pig. On any given round up, all that is needed, is to grab a stick or pole and hold it upright, like sheepherders do bringing in their sheep from the field.

Everything was going smoothly, all the critters were making a beeline for their night time shelter, which is a well insulated building we call "Cozy Cottage". Tonight was a bit different though. Tonight I welcomed Zazzy, our one year old min pin, into the enclosed, gated area surrounding the cottage. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!! This area is normally "off limits" to the dogs.

At first everything was fine, the animals moved to their given sides; the goats, chickens and piggy headed for the door to the left, and the ducks settled in through the door to the right. After dividing up, they eagerly awaited dinner, which consists of three way grain and fresh alfalfa.

Last year, out of necessity, Dave built a feed room. It is inside the room where the ducks reside, fenced off, to the ceiling so critters cannot sneak inside and eat all the grain. Before he built this secure room, the naughty little goats, would use their horns to pry open the top of the tubs storing grain and eat til their tummies swelled. We put a stop to that, as bloat can cause numerous problems, including death. No more goats getting in to feed!

Well, I headed to the feed room and little Zazzy was right under toe. She 'helped' me scoop up grain into a large bucket and gather the hay. I then called out to her giving the come command, which she did. I stepped outside the door, into the fenced area where the critters frolic about during the day. She was right beside me and helped divvy up dinner to the critters next door.

Happy and content, all the critters were munching away. Dave had been busy, filling all buckets, tubs, bowls with fresh water. I turned to shut and lock the door. We close the critters in at night for safe keeping. There are bear, large cats, including cougars, owls and coyotes who grow hungry during the wee hours of the night, looking for tasty little morsels like our furry babies.

As soon as I stepped foot outside, the moment before bolting the door for the night, I no longer saw Zazzy...surely I did not lock her inside. I asked Dave if she was with him, he said nope and the search for our little Zazzy was on!!!

I opened the locked door, walked inside, calling out, "Zazzy, Zazzy!".... no Zazzy! Dave opened the other door, to the sound of murmuring little ducks....nothing, no Zazzy!!

We have a large blue barn, my "painting, potting, puttering shed", with a small space between it and the ground where small animals on our farm, love to play. It's dark and cool down there and it's fun for Zazzy to sometimes chase the cats in and around. We both took sides, shined our headlamps into the darkness, calling out again and again for our little lost girl. No Zazzy, two cats, but no Zazzy!!!

Now panic began to settle in, surely she would not have gone down inside one of several rabbit holes butted up against the cozy cottage. No, no way, she would never do that. They are small and it is dark, very dark and it's cold down there! The last of winters snow has finally melted, so everything is still mucky and a tad smelly!

After searching every inch of our property, we both came to the same conclusion....YES, Zazzy did go down one of the rabbit holes! We called out to her frantically now, realizing, if she did get down into their warren, she may get stuck deep inside, under the cottage and we may never see her again!! Thoughts of bringing in heavy equipment to move the building and excavation started racing through our heads.

We could not live without our sassy little girl! She is full of piss and vinegar, and we love that about her! She is loving, affectionate, she is the "baby" on our farm. We could not live without her!! Seems time stood still, nothing else mattered. Somehow we had to find Zazzy and we still did not know for certain she was down a hole...but, where else could she be?

She loves cheese, just as our other min pins, Nitro and Max do. So we started yelling in harmony, "Cheese please...cheese please". Normally she will come running no matter what for the invitation of yummy cheese. Nothing, no Zazzy. After several attempts of cheese please and then, "Let's go by by", our next banter did coax her out! In a split second a red, muddied nose appeared from beneathe the cottage. YES, Zazzy was down the rabbit hole!!! Thank God, we found her!!!

As fast as she showed her dirty little mug, it was gone again. Dave had a hold of her for a brief moment before she slipped away. Then there was nothing!!! We feared she had backed up and gotten twisted inside the maze only rabbits can navigate. We called out, pleading, nearly crying... worried that dirty, wet nose would be the last we would ever see of her!!

It couldn't be...we could not lose our little girl that way. The cries and pleading continued. Dave dug with his large, loving hands...dug into the wet dirt, and twisted roots that lay deep within the ground, hoping if he dug deep enough, Zazzy would come back and crawl out this time. He then called out for me to bring him a shovel. As I continued to cry out, he dug deeper. All we could both think was, she backed up into one of the tunnels and was now stuck, perhaps in the middle with no way out. What if her collar was snagged on a root, or she attempted a u turn and got wedged in?

Consoling one another, we felt assured she would come out. About 1/2 hour passed, but it seemed like a life time. Just as suddenly as she disappeared, she reappeared... as if she had been spit out of the earth!! There she was at the other end of the cozy cottage dirty, cold, wet... ALIVE!!!

Dave scooped her up and I ran to his side.... with great joy and relief, we both cuddled and stroked her cold little body. Caressing her tiny 8lbs full of piss and vinegar, we were relieved and happy she was alive and well. Dave slowly released her into my loving arms, took a few steps back, with shovel in hand, filled in the rabbit holes and covered them with large rocks.

Zazzy will NEVER get stuck in a rabbit hole ever, ever again!!!!!

http://www.rescueinfocenter.com

www.minpin.org

www.minpinrescue.org