After going missing for 10 days, dogs Brus and Little Dude were rescued near a lava vent in lower Puna on Sunday morning.
The search for the missing pups began when the dogs' owner, Carol Hosley, was being evacuated by firemen at her Leilani Estates apartment. Brus, a jack russel-pug mix, was terrified of men and fled the house as Hosley was packing up her things.
Little Dude, a black terrier mix, followed close behind.
Hosley adopted Brus from Aloha Ilio Rescue six months ago, and has them to thank for his rescue.
"We've been looking for him for 10 days, and we've just kept going back, and going back," said Daylynn Kyles, president of Aloha Ilio Dog Rescue.
The local nonprofit, which relies solely on community donations, saves about 600 dogs every year on the Big Island and works to find them new, safe homes.
When Kyles, accompanied by two friends, finally found the dogs on Sunday they were trapped between a cooled lava flow and a fence line.
"They were stuck behind a fence, and they couldn't get out because the lava had surrounded them," Kyles said. "It was crazy."
Kyles and her companions had to crawl through the grass and over the fence line to reach the dogs who were badly shaken, and bitten by red ants.
"We just knew this dog was probably just terrified, he was truly stuck, he couldn't get out," Kyles said.
Kyles said that during the rescue, the small group later found out that they were near the site of the 17th fissure.
"It sounded like a freight train," Kyles said of the nearby eruption. "You just heard these constant, big booms." Luckily, no one was hurt by the nearby lava spatter.
Hosley, the dog's owner is extremely grateful that her dogs are safe and sound
"I'm just thrilled to death, I just couldn't be happier," Hosley said. "The other stuff is stuff, but I got the dogs."
Brus and Little Dude are recovering well and staying at Aloha Ilio while Hosley tries to find more permanent housing.
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