Cape Town - Finding oneself caught between a rock and a hard place is an undeniable challenge, especially for a small puppy.
This was the predicament when a family’s adventurous pup explored a wall recess behind a sunken bath and became unable to manoeuvre itself out of this predicament.
As the puppy firmly wedged itself in the wall, desperate cries for help echoed, reaching the ears of concerned owners.
The owner, desperate to reach the crying puppy, resorted to demolishing the sunken bath but faced a baffling challenge.
The puppy was not behind the bath, but stuck in a recess in the wall behind the bath.
Stuck in a confined space, the puppy attempted to wriggle free but got trapped again in the process.
This was when the owner reached out to the Cape of Good Hope SPCA for assistance. SPCA controller Eugene Links promptly dispatched trainee inspector Lindo Mbele to the scene.
When he arrived, the puppy, alarmingly, fell silent, and realising the urgency of the situation, the trainee inspector sought support from the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue team.
Mbele had done the ground work and felt his way through the narrow opening, identifying a blockage to the right of the opening but a potential recess as well.
After consulting with the Fire and Rescue team, it was decided that this was where the wall needed to be opened up to access the stranded puppy.
The rescue operation involved heavy machinery, angle grinders and hammers as Fire and Rescue worked tirelessly for over an hour. Despite their efforts, the puppy remained elusive. Finally, using a mirror, the rescue team were able to catch a glimpse of the distressed pup.
The wall was cautiously dismantled brick by brick until the puppy finally came into view. The relief was palpable, but then the puppy, attempting to wriggle free, only wedged himself tighter into the gap.
The rescuers had no choice but to continue to chip away at the wall, until finally, after a slow and meticulous effort, the puppy emerged unscathed.
There were no injuries, and the puppy, clinically alert, displayed nothing but gratitude, joy and a big thirst – quickly quenched by the trainee inspector who had a bowl of water on hand.
The SPCA commended the compassion and care with which Fire and Rescue worked and thanked them for going above and beyond to ensure the well-being of the puppy.