Fire Department

Firefighters were called to a west side residence to help rescue a small dog that found its way underneath a wooden deck but couldn’t get out.

Ladder Co. 7 responded to the 2600 block of McKenna Boulevard, where the owners said they’d tried for an hour to get the dog out but were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, outdoor temperatures at the time were hovering around 0 degrees.

Firefighters sized up the deck and identified a very small hole where the dog had likely entered. There was no way to get under the deck themselves except to cut open a hole. The owner, eager to have their dog out safely, said, “Tear the deck apart. We want our dog alive.”

The crew cut an inspection hole in the deck where they last heard the dog bark. Additional decking was removed to finally locate the dog, which was found to be trapped due to its leash being caught on some deck nails. Firefighters disconnected the pup from her leash, lifted her from under the deck, and returned the dog to her owners uninjured.