Firefighters use vacuum to rescue dog

Published: Dec. 30, 2008 at 4:44 PM

PLUM, Pa., Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Pennsylvania said they used an industrial-strength vacuum to pull a Shih Tzu puppy out of an abandoned well.

Plum Borough Assistant Fire Chief Jim Scuffle said the dog, owned the Palombo family, fell down the well during the weekend and firefighters tried to rescue the pet for three hours without success, WPXI-TV, Pittsburgh, reported Tuesday.

"Eventually, we hooked up an industrial-strength vacuum and sized it down to about 1 inch. We caught on to one of the dog's legs and got it out. It was a miracle," said Assistant Fire Chief Jim Scuffle.

Scuffle said the dog wasn't breathing when it emerged from the well but after a few minutes of mouth-to-snout resuscitation, the puppy began breathing on its own.

"About halfway (to the veterinarian), the dog started to gnaw on my finger a little bit and then it came around," Scuffle said.

The veterinarian gave the puppy a clean bill of health.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Bigger crowds expected on Black Friday (4 min)
Police: Strip club visitor lost truck, son (12 min)
Durable goods orders slid in October (17 min)
'Robin Hood' banker sentence suspended (21 min)
UPI NewsTrack Business (24 min)
Presence of fat hurts weight loss (29 min)
Study shows no change in FDA approval time (40 min)
fark
Don't tase me, doe
Obvious tag doesn't come even close: "Thanksgiving gatherings could spread swine flu"
Two arrested for threatening YouTube rap, are sentenced to read 80,000 barely literate YouTube comments...
Another reason China is kicking our ass: Push button boob jobs with instant D-liscious results
"It often is reported that 46 million turkeys will be eaten on Thanksgiving, and that it is the...
It's not quite Thanksgiving yet, but the Christmas trees are already trying to kill us all