Missouri: Stuck 8 days in a Taney County pipe, Jack the Labrador catches a break

MISSOURI -- No one's sure why Jack crawled into a Taney County culvert.

But the hefty pooch somehow got himself stuck about eight feet into the 15-foot underground pipe — and may have been there for as many as eight days before his owners found him.

With no way to get Jack out, his owners called for help.

The cavalry — a Central Taney County Fire Rescue crew — was quick to arrive Wednesday afternoon.

Volunteer firefighter Jeff Romines photographed Jack's ordeal, which involved one fire truck, one service truck, a backhoe and six human rescuers.

Romines, the department's training officer, said Jack's owners said the dog had been missing for more than a week.

When the owner went to check the mail, he heard whimpering and called for help.

"Jack's a pretty good-sized Labrador, and he's a little chubby," Romines said. "One end of the culvert was blocked, so when he tried to turn around, he got stuck."

Romines said the dog's hind legs had fallen asleep, exacerbating the problem.

Jack was lucky in another way, too. Taney County had some significant rain while Jack was in the pipe.

"He's lucky the ditch didn't fill up while he was in there," he said.

According to the fire department, Jack was lodged so far into the pipe that firefighters had to dig out part of the homeowner's driveway to access the pipe.

Then they used a special saw to cut through the metal culvert, made a bigger hole with the Jaws of Life, and pulled the weakened pup to safety.

Jack was so weak that rescuers had to help him out of the hole.

After some water and a brief rest, Jack was taken home to rest on his favorite bed. Firefighters said it appears Jack will be fine.

Assisting with Jack's rescue were Taney County Animal Control and Taney County Road & Bridge, which responded with a backhoe.

(Springfield News-Leader - May 2, 2018)

Texas: 53-pound alligator snapping turtle freed from a Houston drainpipe after being stabbed in the head and leg, is rehabilitated and released

TEXAS -- The alligator snapping turtle stood frozen on the banks of a caramel-brown stream.

It didn't blink. It didn't unfurl its tail. It just stood there, inches from the water.
"Come on buddy," said Brian Mihura, trying to coax the turtle into safe refuge. "It's downhill from here. It's easy."

Lately, things haven't been easy for the 54-pound turtle.

A two-inch groove stretched across its bony skull, most likely the remnant of a fight with another male alligator snapping turtle.

In early December, it got wedged inside a drainage pipe in north Houston, and the rescue turned into a viral sensation.

Since getting sprung from the pipe, things have definitely been looking up. Over the past month, the alligator snapping turtle has been getting plenty of rest and top-notch veterinary care at the Wildlife Center of Texas.

On Wednesday, the turtle – along with another alligator snapping turtle – were safely released into a Houston-area bayou, a place where scientists know there is an established population of alligator snapping turtles.

"It's kind of like a bar scene for turtles," said Jordan Gray with the Turtle Survival Alliance. "You have quite a few females here, and they'll probably leave when the males show up but they're going to follow them. That's how I would explain turtledom."

Gray and others involved in the release asked reporters not to identify the specific location.

That's because alligator snapping turtles are a threatened species in Texas. Their numbers are dwindling because of habitat loss, exotic pet trade and over-harvesting.

If you don't believe someone would want to eat an alligator snapping turtle, consider the smaller turtle released Wednesday.

Someone found the 37-pound turtle in a parking lot in College Station last fall. It had deep stab wounds to its head and legs.

Center officials theorize that someone caught it, tried to kill it, gave up and dumped it in the parking lot, where it found refuge under a truck.

Texas A&M veterinarians stitched the turtle back up and it's been rehabbing at the center ever since.

Its recovery was somewhat overshadowed by the rescue of the turtle from the drainage pipe.

To free that one, rescuers had to borrow "jaws of life" equipment from a nearby fire department. Center officials estimate the turtle had been stuck for several days. Behind the turtle in the pipe were several dead turtles – including two alligator snapping turtles.

Video footage of the unusual rescue went viral.

"The story went everywhere, even the UK," said Anni Ranck, of the Wildlife Center of Texas.

"The funny thing was it didn't exactly generate a lot of donations for its care. I guess most people don't find them very cute and cuddly."

Gray thinks of them as living dinosaurs. It's easy to understand why.

Covered in bony armor and sporting a tail you don't typically see on turtles, male alligator snapping turtles can weigh almost 200 pounds. And they are growing increasingly rare throughout the southern United States.

The Wildlife Center of Texas has only cared for three alligator snapping turtles in the past three years.

To understand how hard it is to even find one these days, consider this: Center officials received requests from museums for the shells of the dead alligator snapping turtles found in the pipe.

"To be involved in the release of an alligator snapping turtle, this is rare," Mihura said.

Gray and others with the Turtle Survival Alliance plan to monitor the two alligator snapping turtles released Wednesday. Both had their shells notched and were fitted with microchips.

Members of the group are trying to get a better handle on the population of turtles that live in the Houston area to better understand how to protect them.
What they do know is that one of the greatest threats the turtles face is from leftover monofilament fishing line, which can wrap around and cause them to drown.

"I think the main thing we want to ask people to do is to not cut their fishing line," Gray said. "They should try to the best of their ability to untangle their line."

When asked whether he thought the big alligator snapping turtle might end up in another drainage pipe, Gray said he didn't think so.

The turtles, he explained, are pretty sedentary and unlikely to roam back to exact location. Likewise, the release site was carefully selected because there are no drainage pipes close by.

As the volunteers hoisted the big turtle out a plastic bin, it opened its massive jaws, and it seemed to be smiling for the camera, a last close-up, hopefully ever.

They sat the turtle on the ground, and it eventually took one step, then another. Then it quietly slipped under the water.

(Houston Chronicle - Jan 11, 2017)

Earlier:

• Texas: Huge injured 53-pound snapping turtle saved from pipe

United Kingdom: Firefighters spend 9 hours digging to rescue dog from drain

UNITED KINGDOM -- Firefighters have rescued a pet dog that was stuck 15 feet underground for 27 hours.

Eight officers carried out the nine-hours rescue with specialist excavation, videoing and listening devices usually deployed in the event of a natural disaster or building collapse.

After an exhausting effort, which involved sending cameras underground and drawing maps of what was visible, Moppit the Patterdoodle, was recovered from a tunnel.

Operation Moppit concluded when the pet was pulled through a narrow crevice in the ground and reunited with relieved owner, Rachel Stormonth-Darling.

The eight-year-old dog, a Patterdale Terrier and Mini Poodle cross, ended up underground after making her way from an empty stream at the end of her garden into a tunnel.

Moppit became trapped after she caused part of the tunnel to collapse while trying to dig her way out.

Rachel, 53, heard her pet whimpering from underneath the next door neighbor's garden patio, in Iwerne Minster, Dorset, at which point she had already been missing for 18 hours.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service station manager, Stuart Gillion, attended the address and found Moppit stranded 15 feet below the earth in a tunnel usually full of water.

Due to her precarious position he called in a fire crew, a technical rescue team and the urban search and rescue unit from Exeter, Devon - a highly trained underground rescue team.

Mark Greave, the owner of the property, gave officers permission to excavate two holes in his garden.

By using specially made cameras they were able to establish the layout of the tunnels and draw up a map, which allowed them to safely dig into an area of earth with a piece of specialist ground-breaking machinery.

They were assisted by neighbor and local history buff Michael Orham who has lived in the village for over 30 years and knows the formation of the underground tunnels. He advised the firefighters where to dig.

Moppit assisted proceedings by barking the entire time to show her position.

Nine hours after help arrived a smaller member of the team entered the tunnel through the small hole in the patio and retrieved the dog, which surfaced covered in dirt and was badly dehydrated.

After giving her some water Rachel was relieved to see her pet make a full recovery.

Rachel, who runs a Dorset travel website, said: 'I was scouring the garden when I noticed the stream had gone dry, which had never happened before.

'I put my ear to the connecting tunnel and heard Moppit.

'Then I walked into my neighbors garden and heard her again, this time much more clearly, through a drain and called the fire department.'

She added: 'The rescue team was incredible, I thought there was no chance she'd get rescued - it was against all odds she survived.

'The drilling through the ground was extraordinary - like a knife through butter. It was amazing to have her back in my arms, I was in complete shock.

'I'm so relieved that the whole ordeal ended happily for Moppit, she's the luckiest dog alive. It makes you realize how lucky we are in this country to have people who can do this.'

Mr Gillion, who led the rescue, said: 'After a call from a concerned member of the public I attended the scene and found the owner trying to shift the dirt with her bare hands, we had to convince her from going underground herself.

'I decided we needed additional expertise and called in the Urban Search and Rescue Unit, whose highly trained officers made the rescue possible.

 

'After identifying the dog's location we drew up a map on a whiteboard and dug a hole before one of our smaller team members recovered her. Moppit was very dirty and thirsty but the owner was very relieved. It was a good rescue with great teamwork and a happy ending.'

Both Rachel and Stuart gave thanks to the work of the urban search and rescue team, which was set up in the wake of the September 11 attacks. They generally use their special recovery equipment for incidents such as cliff collapses and floods.  

(Daily Mail - Dec 1, 2016)

Texas: Huge injured 53-pound snapping turtle saved from pipe

TEXAS -- A wounded 53-pound snapping turtle is recovering at a Houston wildlife rehabilitation center after fire-rescue crews saved it from a drainage pipe.

The Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the specimen, one of a threatened species known as alligator snapping turtles, was found wedged Tuesday in the pipe in a new residential development near Hockley, about 35 miles northwest of Houston.

Fire-rescue crews used a spreader to open the pipe enough to remove the turtle, which had struggled to keep its head above water.

Several drowned alligator snapping turtles flowed from the newly unblocked pipe.

The SPCA said it also is rehabilitating one other alligator snapping turtle, which had an embedded fish hook and other serious wounds. Both will be returned to the wild after recovering.

(Sacramento Bee - Nov 30, 2016)

Indiana: Columbus police rescue ducklings from storm drain

INDIANA -- Columbus police and animal care services rescued nine baby ducks from a storm drain Wednesday afternoon.

Two people heard the baby ducks’ crying around 1 p.m. in the drain near 7th Street and Pleasant Grove.

Officer Chris Strickland was able to remove two of the ducklings by hand and return them to the mother, but seven of the ducks were stuck in a different section of the drain about ten feet below the street.

 

Chris McDaniel with Columbus Animal Care Services arrived a short time later and used a net to remove the remaining ducks from the drain.

Officials weren’t able to reunite the remaining rescued ducks with their family.

McDaniel says the ducks are around two weeks old and appear to be in good health. They will be taken to UTOPIA Wildlife Rehabilitators in Hope, Indiana who specialize in the rehabilitation and release of animals.

(Fox 59 - June 15, 2016)

New York: Ducklings rescued on Commercial Drive

NEW YORK -- The first indication that something was wrong was the duck in the road.

Gina and Scott Donlyak, of Chadwicks, were driving down Commercial Drive around 11 a.m. Friday when they saw it.

Photo: Utica Observer-Dispatch

Scott Donlyak got out of the car to usher the duck out of traffic and thought it was strange when it began hissing at him aggressively. That's when he heard something that made everything a bit clearer: "Peep! Peep!"

The Donlyaks looked into a nearby storm grate and saw four ducklings inside — "really little, tiny things," Gina Donlyak said.

The couple called 911 to report the trapped ducklings, and New Hartford police and animal control responded. Officers were able to rescue two of the ducklings within an hour.

Photo: Utica Observer-Dispatch

Unfortunately, by then the mother duck had been scared away by the commotion, and the remaining two ducklings had moved further into the drain system and could not be reached.

"We were able to catch two of them, but the others scurried back into the pipes," New Hartford Animal Control Officer Jeff Madden said.

At that point, officials at the scene contacted Woodhaven Wildlife Center Director Judy Cusworth, who recommended that the rescued birds should be placed by the grate to help reassure their siblings and perhaps draw them out.

Photo: Utica Observer-Dispatch

When that didn't work, state Department of Transportation employees were called in to consult, but ultimately determined there was nothing more that could be done.

Cusworth, who will be caring for the two rescued ducklings until they're old enough to fly, said she's encountered similar situations before.

"I'm used to going after them in these storm drains," she said. "Maybe it was a month ago in the Applebee's parking lot, 14 baby ducklings fell into the storm drain and the mother didn't leave."

Photo: Utica Observer-Dispatch

The trapped ducklings might still rescue themselves by following the pipes back to a stream somewhere, she added.

"You never know where those storm drains are going to go," she said.

(Observer-Dispatch - June 17, 2016)

Texas: Deputies rescue mewling kitten from sewer

TEXAS -- Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputies managed to free a yellow kitten from a sewage pipe recently and captured the rescue on camera.

Watch the sweet rescue in the video player above.

The deputy who rescued the kitten can be seen in the video with only his feet exposed outside the sewer drain, as the kitten meows for help.

 

The mewling kitten was eventually pulled from the drain.

(KTRK-TV - June 16, 2016)

Minnesota: Ducklings Rescued From Storm Drain by Firefighters

MINNESOTA -- The Albert Lea Fire Department made a unique rescue on Friday morning.

A group of baby ducks had fallen into a sewage drain in downtown Albert Lea.

According to Fire Captain Scott Hanna, this is not the first time it's happened.

“Kind of one of our signs that spring is actually here. We do duck rescues every year,” said Hanna.

An onlooker, Susie Petersen, witnessed the fallen ducks and immediately called the fire department

"They went down, and the mama went right by that sewer and they went plop, plop, plop,” said Petersen.

The fire department was able to open the drain, get the ducklings out and put them into a bucket. Then, they walked to the nearby lake, with the mother duck trailing right behind them.

“We try and get all of them into a bucket because then, usually, the mother duck will follow you,” said Hanna.

Hanna also notes that Albert Lea has always been helpful when it comes to animal rescues.

“There’s always someone that calls us, we’re not on ducks in the storm sewer patrol,” said Hanna. “It’s amazing the concern for animals that our community shows.”

(WDAZ - May 14, 2016)

Texas: Police rescue deer from storm drain

TEXAS -- The Austin fire and police departments have rescued a deer stuck in a storm drain on a N. MoPac service road Tuesday.

A KXAN Viewer tried to help the deer Tuesday afternoon beneath the U.S. 183 flyover, but was unable to rescue the deer from the drain. Only its head was visible.

 

 

 

 

At around 2:30 p.m., firefighters and police successfully rescued the deer from the drain and released the deer safely.

(News2 - may 4, 2016)

Arizona: Cat stuck in storm drain: worker lowered to save the animal

ARIZONA -- A dramatic rescue shut down a valley intersection for two hours, but it wasn't for a person.

Workers with the Arizona Humane Society rescued a cat that was trapped in a storm drain. A brave worker was lowered underground to try and pull the cat to safety.

It happened at 91st Avenue and Encanto. Police shut down the intersection so workers could rescue the cat.

The Arizona Humane Society got a call a week ago about the trapped animal.

"We've been coming out, checking on the car, giving him water, making sure he stays alive while we figure out how to extract him from the storm drain," said Bernard Durance with the AZ Humane Society.

Workers from the City of Phoenix came out to help them navigate the pathways underground.

"We've been out here today for an hour or two, but he's been down there quite a while, more than a week," said Durance.

Durance has never been down a storm drain before, but he was lowered into the drain to capture the animal. Once he got the cat in a net it was pulled out of the storm drain.

"What a rescue, I'm so glad the cat is alive, he was stuck in a pipe 15 inches big, and he was pretty scared to come down. But we got close enough that I was able to grab him by the scruff and pull him out," he said.

The freed animal will go up for adoption once he gets a clean bill of health. Workers have nicknamed him "Stormy."

"It was dark, it was a little eerie down there. We were able to get down in there, with a little bit of food, and a little bit of love, we were able to get the cat out," said Durance.

If you're interested in adopting Stormy, he has to undergo an examination by a veterinarian.
(Fox10 Phoenix - May 22, 2015)

Tennessee: Good Samaritans and police rescue Husky from drainage pipe

TENNESSEE -- Good Samaritans rescued a dog stuck in a drainage pipe for three days in Morristown.

Jimmi Winstead owns the 16-year-old Siberian Husky.

Winstead was in Florida when she got the call that her dog, Sierra, had run away. Then her neighbors called to tell her they had found Sierra stuck in a drainage pipe by the side of the road.

"I was sick. I felt helpless. There was nothing I could do," Winstead said.

But thanks to neighbors, friends and volunteers, Sierra is now making a miraculous recovery.

When the neighbors heard Sierra crying from the pipe, they called the sheriff's office to come and help. Two deputies responded and they called a friend who owns a backhoe, who showed up and started digging a hole big enough that two other men were able to break into the pipe to rescue Sierra.

Once the group was able to get Sierra from the pipe, they took her to the emergency veterinarian, who at first wasn't sure if Sierra was going to make it. The vet said he was worried he might have to put Sierra down.

Winstead said there was no way she was going to put Sierra down without first getting back home to see her. And she said she was amazed to see that Sierra was up and walking around the day she got home.

"It was amazing, because once you hear ... 'Put her to sleep, she's not going to walk again, and you come home to that?' You just couldn't imagine the feeling you get knowing that she's going to be okay," Winstead explained.

Sierra has severe sores on the side of her body she was lying on. She also had a bite on her face. Despite her injuries and severe dehydration, she's expected to make a full recovery.

Winstead is thanking her neighbors, the sheriff's deputies who responded, and a group of at least 20 people she has never met before in her life for coming to Sierra's rescue.

"I could not thank everybody enough for being so willing to help my baby," she said.

(Local8Now - Aug 8, 2014)