By Kevin Buey
The Deming Headlight
DEMING, N.M. — A 6-week-old puppy, likely frightened by the noise and commotion, eluded Deming Firefighters for about five hours, starting Tuesday night.
“We had to recover a puppy out of a residential sewer line,” DFD Capt. Kenneth McFaul said. “After several hours of digging, we succeeded in saving the puppy.
Firefighters received the rescue call at around 7 p.m., Tuesday and responded to 307 S. Zinc St.
Shortly after midnight, Wednesday, the dog — a Shar Pie mix — was rescued, but only after firefighters dug in several places in Zamora’s yard and had broken tough pipe in an effort to reach the puppy.
“They kept cutting pipes,” Zamora said of efforts to reach the dog, which she’s had for about three weeks. “That’s what scared it so far back.”
The dog had fallen into a sewer clean-out which was uncapped, McFaul said. Firefighters determined they were going to have to dig to get the pipe out and reach the puppy.
Once we did that,” McFaul said, “we discovered the puppy had made its way down the sewer pipe. We dug a second hole in the middle of the yard.”
The ground was so hard there, McFaul said, firefighters used a high-pressure water hose to loosen the soil and make digging easier.
“We cut a second section of pipe out,” McFaul said. “He had moved further down into the pipe. We dug a third hole next to the alley, punched a hole in the top of the pipe, trying to figure out how to coax him out.”
The puppy solved that problem by showing himself at the top of the pipe and firefighter Mike Boylston was able to lift him out.
Neighbors had gathered to watch the process and several, McFaul said, assisted in the digging.
“We do want to say ‘Thank you’ to them for all their assistance,” McFaul said. “She (Zamora) was definitely grateful that we were successful in recovery of the puppy.
“The only casualty of the evening was one of firefighter’s radios seemed to walk off the scene.”
McFaul explained the hand-held radio was put next to a tree, so it wouldn’t get covered in dirt and dust as firefighters worked. It was not there when the firefighter went to retrieve it.
Estimates are the pipe repair work will run a couple hundred dollars, with work done by a private contractor or plumber familiar with such work.
No cost for the rescue.
McFaul said initially just firefighter Fernie Arenibas and he were on-scene. They were then joined by Julian Hernandez and Boylston.
Copyright 2010 Deming Headlight, a MediaNews Group Newspaper
All Rights Reserved