Although a 13-year-old dog named Cesar who lives in Pasadena, Calif., is blind, he managed to find an opening in his backyard fence last night and escaped from the yard. Unfortunately, he wandered onto the construction site next door — and plunged 15 feet down a hole.
Cesar’s owner, Mary, knew something was wrong when her other dog started barking frantically. When Cesar barked back, Mary realized he wasn’t in the backyard. She found him down in the hole, which was only about 3 feet wide, and alerted the construction foreman. They notified the Pasadena Fire Department, and a search-and-rescue team arrived within 10 minutes. Rescue personnel from four other nearby cities also came to help.
Getting Cesar out of the deep and narrow hole was no easy task. “This is a construction zone,” Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “Confined space rescues are low-frequency, high-risk. There are a lot of steps we need to do to make it as safe as possible, for not just the dog but also our rescuers.”
The rescue effort was captured on video. Using ropes and pulleys, one of the rescuers was lowered into the hole. He attached a harness to Cesar and, about 13 minutes after the rescue effort began, they both emerged. Although Cesar cried while he was stuck in the hole, it’s pretty amazing that he wasn’t seriously injured.
The rescuers posed for a photo with Cesar. Saving the lives of pets “always makes us feel good,” Augustin told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “At the end of the day, all of us are pet lovers. I have a dog of my own. We want to make sure we take care of not just our residents, but also our furry friends.” Sweet!
Cesar “is an old dog,” Mary, who didn’t want to give her last name, told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “But he’s still very curious and adventurous.” Hopefully after this misadventure, Cesar will stick to wandering only around his own yard.
Photo: Pasadena Fire Department