A little black puppy was the focus of an urgent rescue in Northwest Fresno Tuesday afternoon.
He was missing when his owner, Priscilla Hinojosa, went out to feed the mother dog and puppies at lunchtime.
"And I seen her, the mom, right there crying. She was right by the hole and when i looked then i heard him crying," Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa shined her cell phone into a hole in the ground and saw the puppy named "handsome."
"I thought I could grab him but when I put my arm in I realized it was still longer," Hinojosa said.
So she called 9-1-1.
Fresno fire fighters arrived in minutes, including fire fighter Tim Otto.
"This was a unique call, to say the least," Otto said.
Otto, a dog owner himself, came up with a solution to get the dog out using a rope they keep on their rigs.
"We were able to lower it down, the hole was tight enough and through pressure over the dog's head and we were able to lift it up," Otto said.
"He was dirty, he was scared, he was shaking but when they got him out I picked him up and he put his head on my neck and he was hugging me. He was excited to be out," Hinojosa said.
Handsome appears no worse for the wear, rough-housing with his litter mates to the delight of Hinojosa's daughters.
"They play so fun I wish I was a puppy, that's what I wish," daughter Daisy said.
And the family's grateful that fire fighters responded when they needed help.
"Thank you so much that they rescued him and without them he wouldn't have survived," said daughter Lillianna.
He was missing when his owner, Priscilla Hinojosa, went out to feed the mother dog and puppies at lunchtime.
"And I seen her, the mom, right there crying. She was right by the hole and when i looked then i heard him crying," Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa shined her cell phone into a hole in the ground and saw the puppy named "handsome."
"I thought I could grab him but when I put my arm in I realized it was still longer," Hinojosa said.
So she called 9-1-1.
Fresno fire fighters arrived in minutes, including fire fighter Tim Otto.
"This was a unique call, to say the least," Otto said.
Otto, a dog owner himself, came up with a solution to get the dog out using a rope they keep on their rigs.
"We were able to lower it down, the hole was tight enough and through pressure over the dog's head and we were able to lift it up," Otto said.
"He was dirty, he was scared, he was shaking but when they got him out I picked him up and he put his head on my neck and he was hugging me. He was excited to be out," Hinojosa said.
Handsome appears no worse for the wear, rough-housing with his litter mates to the delight of Hinojosa's daughters.
"They play so fun I wish I was a puppy, that's what I wish," daughter Daisy said.
And the family's grateful that fire fighters responded when they needed help.
"Thank you so much that they rescued him and without them he wouldn't have survived," said daughter Lillianna.