A small dog who spent three days stuck in a narrow drainpipe in central California was able to breathe a sigh of relief over the weekend, thanks to the sterling efforts of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Yet how the poor pooch ended up there in the first place remains a mystery – and she’s staying tight-lipped.
Sophie, a small white dog weighing less than 15 pounds, had gone missing from her home about five minutes away from where she was eventually found, ABC affiliate KEYT reports.
A passer-by alerted the Santa Barbara County Fire crew after hearing the pet cry out in distress from inside the drainpipe, located on the University of California, Santa Barbara campus.
“It took SBC about 20 minutes to rescue Sophie, a 2-yr-old mix, that had been in a 18″ drainpipe for three days on the UC Santa Barbara campus,” the fire department posted on Instagram.
(santabarbaracountyfire/Instagram)
“FFs used a hose line to coax the dog to another awaiting FF and was brought to the surface.”
(santabarbaracountyfire/Instagram)
Santa Barbara’s Urban Search and Rescue team aided firefighters in the rescue.
The dog had been “missing from its home for about a month” and “under this storm drain for about three days,” Public Information Officer Captain Daniel Bertucelli told the channel.
“It’s always a good day when you can help out an animal,” he added.