Firefighters and a JCB digger shift five tons of earth to save Moose the French bulldog after he got trapped in underground drainage pipe
A team of firefighters shifted five tons of soil with shovels and a JCB digger to rescue a French Bulldog which was trapped underground in a drainage pipe.
The two-year-old pet called Moose disappeared while his owners Adriana Hudson and Morgan Hermon, both 24, were gardening at their caravan home.
The couple were horrified when they heard his faint barking and realised he had scampered into the eight inch wide pipe at the bottom of a nearby ditch.
They tried to use treats to tempt him out, but he was stuck around 10ft inside the pipe under the driveway of the farm where they live with seven-year-old son Riley in Newton near Sudbury, Suffolk.
After around 20 minutes, Adriana, 24, dialled 999 in desperation to ask the fire brigade to help rescue him on Bank Holiday Monday evening.
Three fire crews rushed to the scene and stuck a measuring rod down the pipe until it reached Moose so they could work out where he was trapped 3ft below ground.
Agricultural worker Morgan, 24, used a JCB digger on the farm to gently scoop out the top layer of soil above the area where Moose was stuck.
The 15 firefighters spent around 90 minutes shovelling away earth to get down to the pipe before cutting away a section of it and pulling him back out into the daylight.
Adriana, 24, dialled 999 in desperation to ask the fire brigade to help rescue her dog on Bank Holiday Monday evening
The couple were horrified when they heard his faint barking and realised he had scampered into the eight inch wide pipe at the bottom of a nearby ditch
Three fire crews rushed to the scene and stuck a measuring rod down the pipe until it reached Moose so they could work out where he was trapped 3ft below ground
Adriana, a garden centre worker, said: 'It is fantastic to have him back in one piece. The firefighters did a brilliant job and I am so grateful.
'We were just doing a spot of gardening and had left the dogs off for a run around when he slipped away, and Morgan saw him heading towards the ditch.
'He had been investigating it the day before and I think that he might have been trying to chase another animal into the pipe.
'When we had a look we could hear him relentlessly barking from inside the pipe. We tried putting out treats and calling him, but we couldn't get him to reverse out.
'The pipe is quite narrow and he is he is quite a chunky little boy, so he was stuck fast, and I got really concerned.'
Two fire crews from Sudbury and one from Long Melford were sent to the scene to rescue Moose.
Adriana, who owns six cats and two dogs, added: 'When they got down to the pipe, they worked out exactly where he was from his barks and cut away the area behind it, then pulled him out by his back legs.
'He came out like nothing had happened and was in great shape. It was a lovely happy ending and he was so excited to see us and all the firefighters.
'He was trotting around to meet them all, and seemed none the worse for being underground.
Two fire crews from Sudbury and one from Long Melford were sent to the scene to rescue Moose
The 15 firefighters spent around 90 minutes shovelling away earth to get down to the pipe before cutting away a section of it and pulling him back out into the daylight
Adriana who owns six cats and two dogs added: 'When they got down to the pipe, they worked out exactly where he was from his barks and cut away the area behind it, then pulled him out by his back legs
Agricultural worker Morgan, 24, used a JCB digger on the farm to gently scoop out the top layer of soil above the area where Moose was stuck
The two-year-old pet called Moose disappeared while his owners Adriana Hudson and Morgan Hermon, both 24, were gardening at their caravan home
'I am sure he must have chased something inside the pipe because he headed straight into it when he went into the ditch.
'We can laugh about it now – but it was a horrible feeling when he was stuck.'
Adriana said her partner had now connected a narrower section of pipe to the drain to make it too narrow for Moose to get into again.
She added: 'We have had enough excitement to be getting on with and we don't want him going on any more adventures.'
Michael Brabner, a Group Manager at Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said: 'Moose was so pleased to see his owners and the whole crew.
'I think he came and saw every member of the crew individually, which was great.
Describing the rescue, he added: 'It's not our first, and it won't be the last. It's always nice to come to incidents with positive outcomes.'
