Dog Channels Lassie to Find Missing Cat Stuck in Manhole

Lori Ennis
by Lori Ennis
A determined Border Collie mix proved that there’s camaraderie in fur-power when he found a cat who had been missing for weeks.


In a real-life situation that looked like an old Lassie show, a Border Collie Lab mix brought rescuers to save a cat that had been missing for over six weeks. Shelly Colette is Cash’s human, and was walking him recently when he stopped and insisted he wasn’t going anywhere else. He was over a manhole, and Colette says that she looked through the grate because Cash seemed so insistent. As she peered down, she saw a cat she instantly recognized as a neighborhood cat that had been gone for weeks.


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Colette wasn’t familiar with Ghost the cat but had seen signs all around town looking for the missing kitteh and knew that Cash had found him. Colette called Ghost’s owner, Izzy Francolini, who dropped everything to get to Cash and Ghost.


Town workers tried to move the manhole cover to get Ghost out, but the lid was too rusted, and had to be broken with a sledgehammer. Once that was done, Francolini hoped four-year-old Ghost would come to her, but the sounds of all the rescue efforts had scared her even further in the drain.


Just as determined as Cash had been to rescue Ghost, Francolini camped out on the street, being taken care of by neighbors and strangers alike as she waited for Ghost to come to her. Sadly, Ghost didn’t, even after six hours of waiting, so she went home, heartbroken.


Miraculously, a few hours later, a friend called her and said they thought Ghost may be under another manhole cover, and they ran to the scene, food in hand, hoping to lure him. The effort was successful, as he came to his mama, and other than a few ticks and some weight loss, was in good health.


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Francolini says that this seems to be a pattern for Ghost–disappearing for a while–and that’s where his name came from. Once he was lost inside a wall and wasn’t found for nearly a month.


Cash’s mama Colette says that Cash is a bit goofy, but an amazing tracker, and Ghost was no match for his sniffing ability. Francolini says she loves Cash dearly for his determination and rescue. Were it not for Cash, there may not have been a ghost of a chance Ghost would have been found!


[Source: The Star]

Lori Ennis
Lori Ennis

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