A four-year-old Jack Russell Terrier named Tig, had more of an adventure than she bargained for when she chased a rabbit down into a hole and became stuck for two days in an underground tunnel.

Tig's ordeal began when she and her guardian Ged Kennedy were out walking in some fields near Claverhouse, Dundee City, UK, as part of their regular routine. Ged said: "She was chasing rabbits as usual. She never normally goes down the holes, but she went right in after one. She never came out. I sat there from two o'clock till about seven, shouting in to her and trying to coax her out."

''I came back later but eventually I had to go home. I never slept all night and I was back at half six this morning shouting on her. I dug a big bit around the front of the hole but she was really stuck quite far into the hill. The woman from the SSPCA was here with a noose but she was too far back. We just thought it might be the case that with a couple of days without food she might lose a bit of weight and be able to scramble out herself.''

Firefighters later attended the scene and using a fibre-optic camera on a 5ft pole, they were able to see Tig inside the tunnel and hear her barking. Of the situation, firefighter crew manager Mark Lowe said: ''The problem is that the tunnel goes down then goes back up the hill and there's a bend. We didn't want to dig too much in case it collapsed and we wanted to give her the opportunity to come out by herself.''

Eventually, after some 26 hours stuck inside the dark hole, a few pieces of chicken proved enticing enough to convince Tig to scratch her way towards the food and the tiny opening four feet away from where she was lodged. Tig emerged to cheers from onlookers and right away gobbled up the chicken and drank some bottled water.

It was a happy ending to a worrying situation for both Ged and the firefighers. Ged praised Mark and his firefighters, Karen Goodwin and Johnny Robinson for their efforts in rescuing Tig.

''I'm surprised she got out there,'' Ged said. ''That's the last time she goes chasing rabbits — she'll be on an extended lead from now on.''

• Jack Russell Terrier
• animal rescue