First responders rescue Arkansas pup lodged inside drainage culvert

Residents of an Arkansas neighborhood were awakened at the crack of dawn by the clamorous sounds of digging, as first responders worked to rescue a dog who got himself into a sticky situation.

Emergency dispatchers in Bella Vista, a town of about 31,000 people in northwest Arkansas, received a 911 call just after 5 a.m. Tuesday detailing a dog that had gotten stuck in a drainage culvert on Bracknell Lane, likely after chasing another animal inside, Cassi Lapp, communications director for the City of Bella Vista, told ABC News.

Firefighters rescued a dog trapped in a drainage culvert in Bella Vista, Arkansas, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022.

Bella Vista Fire Department

The dog’s owner had been out looking for him and could hear his distressed calls coming from the culvert, but he could not get out, Lapp said.

When firefighters arrived, they could hear but could not see the pup, whose name is Red, Lapp said. Since the dog was clearly underground, firefighters called the street department, which came armed with the heavy equipment necessary to dig several feet underground to access the pipe, she added.

Video posted to the Bella Vista Fire Department’s Facebook page, shows Capt. Jack Sanders wading in neck-deep earth to access an opening to the pipe.

Firefighters rescued a dog trapped in a drainage culvert in Bella Vista, Arkansas, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022.

Bella Vista Fire Department

Sanders, afraid that the terrified pup would attack, lured Red out by placing some food close to the opening, Lapp said.

“The dog just kind of cooperated and was just real, real helpful and in letting himself be helped to get out,” she said.

Sanders could then be seen placing his arms inside the pipe before gently pulling Red to safety, giving him some reassuring pats once he was freed.

Red may have been able to make it through the other side of the pipe had it not settled into the ground a couple of inches, limiting his crawl space in certain spots, Lapp said.

Firefighters rescued a dog trapped in a drainage culvert in Bella Vista, Arkansas, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022.

Bella Vista Fire Department

Lapp emphasized that Red’s rescue was the result of coordination from several city departments — all of whom had to be ready to respond well before normal working hours. Police officers were tasked with controlling traffic and bystanders, while the street department provided the heavy lifting and firefighters made the actual retrieval.

“It was just a really cool, cooperative effort of these different departments,” she said.

While the pup was shaken by the incident, he went home safely to his family, who lives nearby, Lapp said.