A dog named Teddy who had been missing from its Southern California home for more than 30 days was rescued from a storm drain by animal services officers and reunited with her owner on Monday.
San Diego County Animal Services personnel responded to a call of a trapped dog in the community of Spring Valley around 10:30 a.m. Monday. Officials classified the pooch as a poodle trapped several feet down a storm drain.
Officer Britney Myers spotted the scruffy critter and climbed down a manhole after it, as seen in video from the agency. Myers was handed treats to feed the dog by Lt. Georgina Raygosa, who also dropped Myers a towel.
Myers swaddled the dog in the towel and passed her to Raygosa, who lifted the poodle out of the depths.
The dog was transported to an animal shelter in nearby Bonita.
Shelter personnel said the dog appeared underweight and hungry. Her “dirty coat,” according to shelter personnel, suggested to them that she had been lost for some time.
At the shelter, the female dog was cleaned, fed, vaccinated and checked for a microchip, according to county animal services staff.
While the dog recuperated, a woman arrived at the shelter later that day to report that her dog, Teddy, had been missing for more than a month.
She told shelter officials that she and her family had been scouring the neighborhood, including posting fliers and contacting local dog rescues.
Shelter officials matched the information that she provided and confirmed that they had just rescued her dog.
An initially withdrawn Teddy howled and wagged her tail upon seeing her owner, according to shelter officials. The grateful owner, who thanked shelter personnel for their efforts, went home together with Teddy.
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