“I thought I was too late.”

When a call came into the Cape of Good Hope SPCA about a dog who had taken shelter under a slab of concrete on the beach and ended up buried alive, rescuers quickly sprang into action. They weren’t sure if they would make it in time, but they knew they had to try.

Inspector Lee Prins arrived at the spot where the dog had last been seen and immediately began to dig. He didn’t have much to go on. All he could do was hope he was digging in the right place and that he would find the dog as soon as possible.

“It was taking too long, but I had to keep reminding myself that if I start to panic, I won’t be of any use to the dog that needs me now,” Prins said in a press release.

After what seemed like forever, Prins found the dog, later named Courage, and frantically went to check if he was OK.

“When I finally reached him, he was curled up in a ball and he didn’t move — I thought I was too late,” Prins said.

Luckily, he wasn’t. Courage was scared and alone and thought no one was coming to rescue him, but somehow he’d survived. Prins was so relieved, and so was Courage as he was pulled out of the sand and back to safety.

Courage was immediately rushed to the vet to get checked out. Somehow he came out of his ordeal mostly unharmed, but he had a bunch of other issues from being on his own for so long. He was dirty and malnourished, and his vet team put together a plan to help get him back on his feet.

Courage still has a ways to go on his recovery journey, but he’s safe now, and that’s all that truly matters.

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