Adorable pet dog rescued from unusual predicament after a passerby heard barking coming from underground
A pet dog has been rescued from a sewer grate in Virginia after his barking for help attracted a neighbor’s attention.
Diesel the 15-year-old Pitbull escaped a gate which had accidentally been left open at the Vidal family’s home in Norfolk on March 27.
His owners immediately noticed his absence and filed a lost report with staff at the Norfolk Animal Care Center.
‘Diesel has never wandered off; this was completely out of character for him,’ owner Shari Vidal told the Daily Mail. ‘He gets tired really fast when we go out for walks, so we figured he couldn’t have gone far.
‘We were out till 1am looking for him and there was no sign of him.’
On March 28, a Norfolk resident heard feeble barks echoing nearby, but couldn’t pinpoint where the noise was coming from.
The unnamed Good Samaritan called the Animal Protection Unit, who frantically searched for the owner of the disembodied bark.
They finally managed to find Diesel trapped underground inside a storm drain.
‘Diesel had somehow found himself INSIDE a small stormwater drain and unable to get himself out,’ read a social media post from the city.
Norfolk Fire Rescue Engine 13 was called to remove the drain’s covering and lift him from his tricky hiding spot.
Diesel is a 15-year-old Pitbull from Norfolk, Virginia who got stuck in a sewer after escaping his home
Shari and Rodolfo Vidal pictured with their daughters and their briefly lost dog, Diesel
Diesel was taken to Norfolk Animal Care Center, where a staff member recognized him from the report filed the previous day.
‘A phone call, another truck ride, and several tears later, Diesel is right back home in the loving arms of his family,’ said the agency.
‘Thanks to the teamwork between a citizen, dispatch, Animal Protection Unit, Norfolk Fire-Rescue and the Norfolk Animal Care Center, a sweet (and maybe a little too curious) senior dog is back home and safe.’
It is still a mystery as to how a Pitbull, some of which can exceed 60 pounds, squeezed its way into the narrow drain.
Some theorized that Diesel was chasing another animal into the drain or that he was attracted to its peculiar smell.
Though they’re still scratching their heads, the Vidal family is just happy to have their beloved companion home again.
The tearful reunion between Shari and Rodolfo Vidal, their children and their family dog prompted a heartfelt message of gratitude.
‘So happy our boy is back home,’ Shari commented on Facebook. ‘He was very much stinky, but nothing a warm bath didn’t fix.’
‘Thank you to everyone who shared and helped our old boy today,’ she added.
The Vidal family adopted Diesel when he was just eight weeks old in 2011, Shari said.
‘Diesel means the world to us… Our kids don’t know life without Diesel. So they were devastated when they heard the news,’ she said.
Over the past few years, he has been gradually losing hearing and vision. The family has a second Pitbull called Mack, who is Diesel’s son.
The Vidal family contacted the Norfolk Animal Care and Adoption after their beloved family dog briefly went missing
Norfolk Fire Rescue teams were called to remove the storm drain cover and get Diesel to safety
It took multiple government agencies to track down Diesel and return him to his family
Diesel’s Houdini-like maneuver into the storm drain was likened to Pennywise by the hundreds of community members who were attracted to his story.
‘Need to give him the middle name Pennywise now,’ one commenter joked.
‘That baby definitely saw Pennywise down there,’ another added.
Similarly, the horror movie clown dwelt in storm drains – though the ‘It’ villain was not quite as adorable or friendly as the beloved Diesel.
Norfolk Animal Control has encouraged anyone who is missing a pet in the area to call their Animal Care & Adoption Center.
The Daily Mail contacted Norfolk Fire Rescue, the Norfolk Animal Care Center and the Vidal family for comment.
