--- title: Irish Setter Protects Trapped Basset Hound Friend for a Week description: The hound was stuck in a concrete cistern canonical: https://time.com/4039946/irish-setter-basset-hound/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-18T12:28:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:00.271Z og:title: Irish Setter Protects Trapped Basset Hound Friend for a Week og:description: The hound was stuck in a concrete cistern og:url: https://time.com/4039946/irish-setter-basset-hound/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt367ae1d4cefff5c6/69886434ab6d7718206a6368/tillie-and-phoebe.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 640 og:image:height: 360 og:image:alt: Tillie and Phoebe og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Irish Setter Protects Trapped Basset Hound Friend for a Week twitter:description: The hound was stuck in a concrete cistern twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt367ae1d4cefff5c6/69886434ab6d7718206a6368/tillie-and-phoebe.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Irish Setter Protected His Trapped Basset Hound Friend for a Week in the Woods ## Video: Creative Ways To Celebrate National Dog Day [Watch (HLS stream): Creative Ways To Celebrate National Dog Day](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/AUeJjRNd.m3u8) (0:59)  _Published 2015-08-26. Celebrate your favorite pooch on August 26th, which is National Dog Day._ by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Sep 18, 2015 12:28 PM UTC  Tillie and Phoebe. Tillie and Phoebe.VIPP by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Sep 18, 2015 12:28 PM UTC A [story](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/09/17/dog-stands-guard-week-until-trapped-friend-found/32546581/) out of Washington state sounds like the perfect plot for _Homeward Bound 2._ Two doggy pals, a setter (Tillie) and a basset hound (Phoebe), were recently reported missing, and a non-profit group in the area posted notices online asking for tips, _USA Today_ reports. When someone called in that that they’d seen a “reddish” dog coming onto their property for several days and going back into the ravine she had come from, volunteers from Vashon Island Pet Protectors went looking in the ravine, in case it might be Tillie. Sure enough, when they called out her name, she barked in response, and they saw her peering over the edge of a concrete cistern. “We knew that meant Phoebe was inside the cistern,” the group posted on its Facebook page, “and every breath was held and every doggie prayer offered that the peek over the rim would somehow find her safe.” Happily, Phoebe was okay: she was perched on top of debris that kept her out of the water. Tillie had apparently been standing guard over her for a week, leaving only to look for help at the property where she’d been spotted. Both animals were understandably hungry and cold, but perfectly safe. Let’s hope Tillie got a big bone as a reward for her loyalty. \[[_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/09/17/dog-stands-guard-week-until-trapped-friend-found/32546581/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4039946/irish-setter-basset-hound/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4039946/irish-setter-basset-hound/"},"headline":"This Irish Setter Protected His Trapped Basset Hound Friend for a Week in the Woods","datePublished":"2015-09-18T12:28:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:03:00.271Z","description":"The hound was stuck in a concrete cistern","url":"https://time.com/4039946/irish-setter-basset-hound/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt367ae1d4cefff5c6/69886434ab6d7718206a6368/tillie-and-phoebe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt367ae1d4cefff5c6/69886434ab6d7718206a6368/tillie-and-phoebe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tillie and Phoebe","caption":"Tillie and Phoebe.","creditText":"VIPP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4039946/irish-setter-basset-hound/","name":"This Irish Setter Protected His Trapped Basset Hound Friend for a Week in the Woods"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Creative Ways To Celebrate National Dog Day","description":"Celebrate your favorite pooch on August 26th, which is National Dog Day.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/AUeJjRNd/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-26T17:04:43.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/AUeJjRNd.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4039946/irish-setter-basset-hound/","duration":"PT59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4039946/irish-setter-basset-hound/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```