Pepperoni used to coax trapped wiener dog to freedom

Firefighters in Beaver County had to use a good bit of sweat and a little bit of bait to free a dog that became trapped under a building on Wednesday afternoon.

Shortly after 2 p.m. a rescue crew from the City of Beaver Falls Fire Department was dispatched to a home along Second Avenue for a report of a dog that got stuck under a house after chasing a groundhog.

Police officers were already on scene but were unable to free the pet — a dachshund named Winston — so firefighters made several attempts to get to the dog without damaging the property.

“We really couldn’t see anything but a tiny hole leading under the foundation that the dog chased the groundhog into,” said fire Chief Mark Stowe. “We could hear the dog whimpering and barking, but there wasn’t any way we were going to get to him without a little work.”

Stowe said the dog managed to wrangle its way about 3 feet below the surface and then got “backed into a corner.”

The chief, along with fire Capt. Chris Crawford and firefighter Jason Tyger, used power tools to cut through the concrete and then began digging down with shovels to get closer to the dog.

“Unfortunately, we hit another slab of concrete down there, so we still couldn’t get close enough and the dog didn’t seem to be able to get to us because his collar was keeping him from getting through the opening.”

Stowe said they managed to create enough room in the hole for Tyger to crawl under the house and use his hands to scoop dirt away and enlarge the opening.

“Even though we created enough room for the dog to get out, it was pretty frightened and wasn’t moving,” the chief said. “So we figured if he heard his owner’s voice, he might respond.”

Firefighters helped the dog’s owner, Sarrah Masters, into the pit so she could kneel down and coax Winston out with a treat, Stowe said.

“She held some pepperoni out in her hand and he came right out to her,” the chief said.

Masters said Winston got loose after her other dog, a spaniel named Spencer, chewed off Winston’s electronic collar when they were in a crate together while she was at work.

The collar activates an invisible fence that keeps dogs from wandering.

She said she spent about half an hour walking the neighborhood in search of her dog.

“I kept hearing him bark and finally realized that he was actually underneath my neighbor’s house,” she said. “I saw him looking up from the hole and tried to pull him out, but it seemed like I was hurting him so I pushed him back down.”

Masters said she could hear the dog trying to dig its way out, but realized that he was actually trapping himself deeper into the hole, so she called for help.

Stowe said there’s a certain satisfaction when a pet is reunited with its owner.

“On these type of calls you really feel for the family,” he said. “The dog’s owner was so upset. I’m a dog owner, so I understand. They’re like family to us. I’m glad we were able to help rescue him.”