United Kingdom: Firefighters called to rescue Hugo the miniature Chihuahua Yorkshire terrier cross who got stuck head-first in a garden gate

UNITED KINGDOM -- Firefighters were called to rescue a dog after he got stuck head-first in a gate while chasing a cat.

Hugo, a Chihuahua Yorkshire terrier cross, was chasing a cat around the garden at his home in Southbourne, Dorset, when he tried to run through a gap in a garden gate.

But despite his tiny frame, the three-year-old got stuck in the gap and was unable to get himself free.

His owner, Kerriann Godwin, heard his cries and stepped outside to find Hugo half-in and half-out of the gate.

Ms Godwin, a 56-year-old author, spent 10 minutes trying to carefully pull him free before calling the emergency services for assistance.

A team of fire fighters arrived and freed Hugo by forcing open one of the metal railings in the gate.

Throughout his ignominious ordeal the ginger cat sat and watched from the safety of the bottom of the drive.

Apart from suffering a bruised ego, Hugo was unharmed during the episode that happened yesterday afternoon.

Ms Godwin said: 'I was working in the back garden and heard him barking from the front. I walked out and there he was, half in and half out of the garden gate. I don't know how the hell he managed it.

'Sat a safe distance away was this smug-looking ginger cat that he had clearly seen and gone after. If he sees a cat he will go after it and then give up quite quickly.

'I tried to get his front half back through the gap because his hips wouldn't fit through the front.

'My partner had just gone out kayaking so he wasn't around to help and the RSPCA was closed. I knew the fire brigade rescue cats up trees so I thought they might rescue my dog.

'I did apologise when I made the 999 call and they said I did the right thing.

'I sat with Huge and tried to calm him down because he was shaking. Then the fire engine turned up with five of them. They used a tool to spread the metal var open and Huge just popped out.

'The ginger cat was sat smugly on the driveway while everything was going on.

'I put a lead on Huge so I could grab him in case he went after the cat. He seems to be in perfect health now so he was quite lucky.'

Ms Godwin, who lives with her partner Graham King, has now fixed a mesh on the gate to stop Huge from trying to escape again.

A spokesman for Christchurch Fire Station said: 'We were happy to help Hugo after he got trapped in a gate after chasing a cat.'

Despite the unfortunate circumstance for the young pup, Hugo isn't the only animal to get stuck in a rut.

(Daily Mail - April 17, 2017)