Escaped guinea pig rescued from Ohio sewer

May 13 (UPI) -- Public employees in an Ohio city rescued a guinea pig that escaped from his family's home and fled into a sewer.

The Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District said a family called the agency's 24-hour hotline to report their pet guinea pig, Snowball, had dashed into a sewer and wasn't coming out on his own.

Sewer district workers Jeff Greene and Reggie Gray responded to the neighborhood and Greene was lowered into a manhole to look for Snowball.

The pet was spotted in a narrow sewer pipe that leads out to the street. The workers used a basketball that was slightly smaller than the pipe to nudge Snowball until Green could reach the animal with his hands.

The sewer district said Snowball was not injured, but "needs a bath" after being returned to his owners.