That old expression, “like a rat down a drainpipe”? Well, dogs manage to disappear down drainpipes, too, especially dogs who look very much like dachshunds, a type of dog whose entire USP is its ability to dive down holes in the ground…
Must be barking: two firefighters helping to break the pipe where dog Woodey was stuck
So thank goodness for a resourceful crew of the London Fire Brigade, who came to the rescue of a dog, and dog owner, when they were out for a walk in the Addington Hills when one of their hounds, Woodey, dived into a hole in the ground and couldn’t get out.
The owners were walking eight-year-old Woodey and his pal, Quincey, when they disappeared down a pipe on a wooded hillside.
Quincey managed to get free and, being the good buddy that he is, started barking to alert his owners that Woodey was stuck.
The Brigade was called by Woodey’s worried owner. She said: “The noise and echo coming from inside the pipe made it sound like Woodey was having trouble breathing and so I called 999.”
Addington Station Officer Ray Foster arrived on scene and saw the dog had fallen deep into the pipe and used a snake-eye camera to identify exactly where the dog was located. Station Officer Foster said: “We decided to break the pipe, our main priority was to not scare the dog and to make sure he was absolutely safe.”
Safely recovered: Addington station officer Ray Foster with a not-too-worse-for-wear Woodey, and his pal, Quincey, who had raised the alarm
The owner’s son arrived and tried the dog-owners’ tried and trusted ploy: sausage. The sound from the sledgehammer and the scent of food soon saw Woodey scampering back up the pipe. Firefighters were then able to grab Woodey and completed the rescue.
The owner said: “The firefighters were brilliant and did a great job, we were so relieved!”
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Firefighters love animals too and we’re ready, willing and able to assist distressed or injured animals – the last thing we want is for people to put themselves at risk rescuing an animal themselves.
“But we do encourage people to call the RSPCA in the first instance and we will assist if our specialist equipment is required, as in this case.”
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