A sigh of relief for a Bloomfield dog owner. His golden retriever was rescued after being stuck in a pipe while out for a walk Wednesday. The owner now thanking firefighters and others for their help.
“We’re not going near anymore culverts," said owner David Lauretti.
That’s where Zeke, the golden retriever, found himself Wednesday in Bloomfield by reservoir #3. Lauretti says his dog got stuck in the pipe after wandering inside, likely going after something.
“I could hear him, and I get down literally on my hands and knees and I could put my head in and hear him whimpering,” he said.
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Lauretti says Zeke was stuck well inside the pipe and called 911. Eventually animal control, firefighters from the Bloomfield Center Fire Department and town public works came together and began their efforts.
Firefighters says getting Zeke out was a challenge as the dog likely had his leash stuck to something inside.
“The pipe itself was not very large. We could not put an individual inside the pipe,” Fire Chief Peter Barnard said.
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Since the pipe was on state land, Barnard says calls were made to state wildlife officials before a green light was given to dig out the pipe. Sections of the pipe were able to be pulled apart.
“Once they had the end of the pipe open, one of our members went down the hole and they were able to lure the dog and he came out immediately,” he said.
A sense of relief came over Lauretti who immediately checked on the health of Zeke. He was stuck inside for about three hours.
“We toweled him off. Put him in the car and took him to the vet where he got a great bill of health,” he said.
Welcome news for the firefighters who helped out.
“A lot of our responders are dog owners as well, so it hit close to home so fortunately it had a fantastic outcome,” Barnard said.
Lauretti was thankful for the teamwork he saw.
“You hear a lot of criticism of government these days. They did everything right and I’m very thankful to them,” he said.
For now, Zeke will be taking it easy.
“He’s got a few more rabbits to chase. He’s got a few more good days left in him, hopefully a lot more,” Lauretti said.
He says Zeke has been given extra food and has been exhausted, but went on a walk Friday morning and was himself again.
