It is truly horrible.
Unless the dog was sedated or tied up it would be nearly impossible to force a dog that big into a hole....But dogs are so trusting that if told to stay many would obey their masters until it was too late.
But the story is horrible but not sad. By a miraculous chance the dog was saved, not only from a cruel death, but also from an abusive situation.
Here is a link to the hospital/shelter the dog is at now:
http://www.safeharbor.jupiterdaily.com/
It looks like an outstanding safe harbor. The publicity the case got assures that this dog will easily find a loving new home. Hundreds of other dogs every day are not as lucky and cannot find new homes.
I do wish their were more appropriate legal means of handling the perpetrators of cases like this.