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Naomi C. Hardesty, rescued with dog
By GREG WILLIAMS NORTH REDINGTON BEACH -- Naomi C. Hardesty, who last year fell into a backyard hole and was trapped for a day along with her dog, has died. She died Thursday (April 17, 2003) at her home in North Redington Beach. She was 72. Last October, Mrs. Hardesty fell into a 5-foot-deep hole dug by contractors who were repairing her sea wall. Despite surgery on her leg after the fall, she was in relative good health, said her daughter-in-law, Maria Hardesty. It was late at night when Mrs. Hardesty's 12-year-old golden retriever-Labrador mix Shadow ran into the hole. Mrs. Hardesty was standing at the edge contemplating how to rescue her dog when the ground crumbled under her feet, sending her sliding into the hole. Shadow, 75 pounds and arthritic, was unable to climb out, and Mrs. Hardesty had suffered a broken leg and couldn't free herself. A neighbor found the pair after they spent the night and most of the following day trapped together. After their ordeal, Mrs. Hardesty and Shadow were separated for weeks while she was in the hospital. But they were reunited two months later, just in time for Christmas. The family retrieved Shadow, who had lived with Mrs. Hardesty since he was a puppy, from an animal shelter on Saturday. The daughter-in-law said he will live with them in North Carolina. "He's not happy; I know he misses her," she said. Born in Bayonne, N.J., Mrs. Hardesty came here in 1967 from Carlisle, Pa. She was a member of Church by the Sea in Madeira Beach and was a volunteer for All Children's Hospital Guild in St. Petersburg. Survivors include a son, George E. Hardesty III, Pikeville, N.C.; two grandsons, George E. Hardesty IV, Pikeville, and David Hardesty, Chapel Hill, N.C.; and two granddaughters, Melissa Hardesty and Mariela Hardesty, both of Raleigh, N.C. A service will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Reese Funeral Home Chapel, 6767 Seminole Blvd., Seminole. Burial will be at Royal Palm Cemetery South. Donations can be made to All Children's Hospital. -- Information from Times files was used in this obituary.
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