‘Absolute sense of relief’: Kansas hunters find lost dog trapped in well

CENTRAL KANSAS (KSNT) – A normal hunt for birds in central Kansas turned into a scary experience when the group’s hunting dog suddenly disappeared.

KSNT 27 News spoke with Brandon Harmony, a Kansas man hailing from the Hutchinson area, about the frightening moments that followed after he realized his pooch Daisy Mae was missing. He was out hunting with friends in the area around Gypsum for quail and pheasants on the first day of the season, Nov. 11, in what began as a typical hunt.

“It was a beautiful morning, the dog was working just phenomenal,” Harmony said.

The hunters worked their way through some fields on land owned by a friend, breaking off for lunch before returning to the area. Two-year-old Daisy Mae was on point, helping the hunters by flushing out birds hiding in the brush. It was around this time Harmony started to feel something was wrong.

“When she didn’t come back, I thought that was a little iffy,” Harmony said. “I hollered at the other guys down the line if they seen her working anywhere, holding a point.”

Minutes passed by with no sign of Daisy Mae. Harmony started to get worried as he continued to look for his dog. Thinking she might’ve returned to his truck, he returned to where he parked, but still no sign of the hunting pooch could be found. Harmony turned to his last resort at this point: a collar beeper.

“I started using the collar beeper to locate her,” Harmony said. “I could hear it just faintly over the wind, I could hear the beep. I kind of followed that direction and walked across what I thought was a rabbit hole. I looked down and she was in the well.”

Daisy Mae had fallen into a well Harmony said looked to be around 25-feet deep. He said no one knew the well was there.

“She was standing but not moving,” Harmony said. “She was pretty much in shock.”

The landowner ran back to his property and retrieved a ladder and rope to help pull the dog out. Worries for Daisy Mae’s safety were ended when she was pulled out and reunited with her owner. Though she appeared to be favoring one of her back legs, she otherwise appeared to be okay.

“Just asking God, thanking him no one else was hurt,” Harmony said. “Prayers that she was okay. Luckily when she came out she was fine.”

Harmony said his dog put her nose in the air and started looking for more birds. Once he saw his dog return to hunting, Harmony felt relieved.

“Absolute sense of relief,” Harmony said. “Really, just a weight lifted off my chest. I was more excited to see her excited to find a bird. Once she started looking for birds, I knew she was okay.”

Harmony said the landowner plans to have the well filled so accidents like this don’t happen in the future. He talked with some local veterinarians about having his dog evaluated following the fall.

Harmony said he’ll be taking his dog out to go hunting again in the near future for more quail and pheasants.

For more Kansas outdoors, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app.