NATIONAL NEWS - A Bryanston dog owner has been left grief-stricken after her dog fell into a manhole while on a walk along the Braamfontein Spruit.
Cheryl Nurock was participating in the Bryanston Parkrun with her two dogs like she has many times before. However, this time, on April 20, Nurock left devastated when her Jack Russell, Buddy, fell into a manhole than had been left uncovered.
Nurock had briefly let Buddy off his leash at the end of the Park Run when he fell into the manhole. Other runners rushed to assist Nurock, and the Sandton SPCA visited the site to see if there was anything that could be done to find Buddy.
Rose Bishop, one of the witnesses, said, “As it was a deep sewerage line, he disappeared, never to be seen again. The poor owner, Cheryl Nurock, and other park runners and walkers were traumatised.”
Nurock said that she has done over 40 Bryanston Park Runs, and has on many occasions seen the manhole without its cover. She said that on the day, they had urgently tried to get in contact with Joburg Water to get them to assist, however, they could not get a reference number to follow up.
After many hours, the search for Buddy was called off when it was determined that the water was both deep and flowing rapidly, and it was unlikely that Buddy had survived.
While Nurock is left devastated by the tragedy, she added that it could have been a child who had fallen into the manhole.
Following the incident, residents put up a sign near the manhole and covered it with a piece of wood to try and prevent any future accidents.
