Exhausted after having spent almost 24-hours, chin-deep in water in a dark well, holding on to his dog, Natale Fenech dosed off and slipped off a small rock that had become his lifeline.
As he waded blindly in the cold, rat-infested water, he thought he was going to die. Then, he saw a faint ray of light and it helped him find his way back to the rock.
His dog, Fido, swam right back into his arms and the 66-year-old did something he had not done since he was a child: he prayed.
“I never go to Mass or pray. But when I was a child St Anthony was my favourite. I told him: ‘If only you would find one person who would save me I promise I will start going to Mass once a week and dedicate it to you’. St Anthony got me there, I suppose, as I’m going to have to keep my promise,” Mr Fenech chuckled, adding he would start this Wednesday.
Sitting in a room at Mater Dei Hospital, Mr Fenech spoke in a hoarse voice as he recounted how he spent 22 hours in the Pembroke well.
“I’m hoarse because I shouted for help so much... If you’re desperate you do anything.”
Although he lives in Sliema, he takes his dogs – Fido l-Furjaniż and Kikka l-Għawdxija (named after the SPCA sanctuaries he adopted them from) – to Pembroke where they can run around without a leash.
On Friday, when the time arrived for their daily walk, the dogs started jumping around the house impatiently and, in a rush to get out, he forgot his wallet and mobile phone.
When they arrived in Pembroke at about 5pm, Fido chased a rat and he lost sight of the dog. Kikka ran to the area where he last was and there Mr Fenech saw an opening in the ground, underneath some slabs where Fido had fallen.
The dog was splashing in water and he thought there might be a puddle. He crawled under the slabs to access the well but couldn’t quite reach Fido. He leaned a little further... and fell.
“It was like a swimming pool inside. Had it not been for the rock in the corner I wouldn’t have survived. I spent 22 hours there holding on to my dog. It was fresh water and it was deep. Imagine, when the civil protection personnel arrived and lowered the ladder it vanished,” he recounted.
He started calling for help but no one heard him. Kikka, meanwhile, remained outside the well, barking. Then the nightmare started. He tried to climb out of the well – the top of which was barely a metre above his head – but he could not lift himself out and injured his hands trying.
“I don’t wish this on anyone... At one point, at night, a large rat climbed onto my head. I heard other rats splashing in the water. Another time, I dozed off and fell off the rock.
“I lost my sense of orientation. I and the dog swam around the well blindly... Fido tried climbing onto me and I told him: Fido, no, Fido no. I was breathless, face up. I thought I’d drown. Then, I saw a little ray of light coming in from the area we fell through and I knew that the rock was in the corner there,” he said.
All sorts of thoughts started streaming through his mind. “I even thought to myself: this is what people must think when they are about to die. But something deep down inside told me: you’ll survive,” he said.
Then he prayed.
When the sun started rising on Saturday, the sunlight seeping into the well was comforting. But hours went by and there was no sign of life on the outside. Then, suddenly, he heard the voice of an Englishman who had been attracted to the area by Kikka’s barking. Relieved, he told the Englishman he had been there since the day before and needed help to get out.
The man went to call for help. Soon the Civil Protection Department personnel, the police and paramedics arrived and he was taken to Mater Dei Hospital where he was given “first class treatment” for hypothermia.
At first, he was reluctant to leave Fido and Kikka behind but he was assured they would be taken care of by the Animal Welfare Department while he recovered.
He made it a point to end the brief interview with thoughts about the dogs: “A dog is for life... animal sanctuaries are full of them and I urge people to make donations to them so they can continue helping out”.