A man and his dog found themselves in deep trouble recently, 12m down an abandoned gold mine.
Hindon farm manager Greg Wilson was out mustering on a steep hillside when his huntaway dog Jock disappeared. He found him 15 minutes later.
''I heard this howl echoing from deep under my feet and found him swimming about 12m down a big shaft.
''I could see he was starting to get tired and blowing a few bubbles and wasn't going to live much longer.''
He ran down the road and found neighbour Graham White, with his grandson Zach (10). Mr White came and lowered Mr Wilson down the shaft with a rope.
''I am new to the area so hardly knew my neighbour.''
Mr White and Zach hauled Jock out of the hole but Mr Wilson was a different story.
''I tried to pull him up ... I thought: `S... I'm in trouble','' Mr White said.
Instead, Mr Wilson had to prop himself against the sides of the shaft with his feet and the back of his head.
''Over a period of time, with him taking the slack every time I managed to get a couple of inches, I managed to get back up.''
He was ''absolutely knackered'' from the emotional stress of nearly losing his ''main dog'' and from physical exhaustion by the time he got to the surface.
Jock was in an even worse state. He was suffering hypothermia from the freezing water and had worn away all of his front claws trying to scramble out of the hole.
''It was fortunate it was him because I don't think the other dogs would have been strong enough to survive,'' Mr Wilson said.
Jock was treated by a veterinarian, and spent two days ''off work'', sleeping. Mr White has farmed in the district for 35 years and said there were hundreds of old mine shafts in the area, although most were horizontal.
He filled them in or fenced them off when he found them, and the Dunedin City Council had kept a record of where they were found.
Hindon had a population of about 1200 at the height of the gold rush. Mr Wilson said 4-year-old Jock was in his prime as a working dog and more valuable than any gold.
